


Red Lamb

by Cheeky_monkey, Jay2Noir



Category: Star Wars Sequel Trilogy
Genre: Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Cave homes, Dominant Kylo Ren, F/M, Fire, First Order Militia, Foxes, Girls with Guns, Guns, Hitman AU, Hitman Kylo Ren, Kidnapping, Kylo Ren Has Issues, Kylo Ren Needs a Hug, Militia, Obsessive Kylo Ren, Protective Kylo Ren, Shooting Guns, Stockholm Syndrome, Strangulation, Tag As I Go, Texas, bacardi, fictional setting
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-04-06
Updated: 2018-08-11
Packaged: 2019-04-19 02:09:14
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 12
Words: 56,600
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14226810
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Cheeky_monkey/pseuds/Cheeky_monkey, https://archiveofourown.org/users/Jay2Noir/pseuds/Jay2Noir
Summary: Being a hitman meant everything to Kylo. From keeping away from other people to killing indiscriminately, it's what he did and it's what he'd continue to do for the remainder of his days. The hit on the First Order Militia group's leader was no different. Spend some time the group, work his way up in the ranks, and kill them when they least expect it. It would be easy, until Kylo meets one of it's young, protected members.As he learns more about the girl and her past, he finds it to be difficult to carry out the hit. But this is what he was made to do, this was his life's purpose. He can't let one silly little girl get in his way. Or will he?





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Cheeky_monkey and I decided to team up again and bring you a brand new storyline! We hope you enjoy, it's going to be one wild ride.

To be surrounded by big, scary men holding heavy, deadly guns in an old, flatbed truck with an itchy, black blindfold on your face would terrify most people into soiling their pants in more ways than one. Normal people would be sweating bullets, begging for their lives to be spared or to be let go. Anything to not be in a situation as nerve-wracking as this one was.

But this wasn’t just an ordinary person. This was hitman Ben Solo. Ben Solo was calm, cool, and quite frankly, he was bored with all of this. This would not be the first time he had been blindfolded and kept under “maximum” security. He sighed as one of the men poked their gun in his shoulder, demanding him to sit up. Sure, he didn’t have any of his handy dandy tools on him to make taking these guys out easier, but should anything go sideways he was confident enough in himself that he could work his way out with just his hands if he had to.

“Hanging in there, Mr. Ren?” One of his captors chuckled, removing the gun from his shoulder. He knew better than to speak or answer when it wasn’t needed. The last thing he needed was to blow his own cover and be found out. He only needed to kill one person during this mission, not the entire First Order compound. 

He was trained extensively under his Grandfather and his Grandfather’s best mate, both one of the best assassins of their time. He spent some time in the military, some time in the FBI, and has now taken to lay low in a somewhat odd place to call home: A cave he had converted to a small living space using wooden planks and black fabric to make walls and a door. It took him years, drilling holes in the walls, digging holes in the ground to lay water pipes and electrical wires that attached to a generator right outside of his door. Lots of nights had to be spent with no clean water or with no power, sleeping on just the cold, hard cave floor with nothing but a thin blanket. But in the end he had done it. He now had a cave with warm, running filtered water, decent electricity for lights and heat, and just a quiet and reserved place to call home.

Even though he enjoyed his privacy he did have one issue that stumped him for quite some time. One night while he was fast asleep on his mattress in what he considered to be a “bedroom,” he heard some noise coming from outside of his handmade wooden wall. It sounded like metal being hit with something, sounded like someone or something was messing with one of his most prized possessions: His truck. He reached over to his left and grabbed his pistol, one of the assorted guns he kept mounted on the wall next to his bed should he need them.

Very slowly he crept out from his bedroom and through his small cave system to his front door. As slowly and silently as he could he removed the small piece of fabric he used as a peephole at his front door, sure enough there was someone dressed in all black trying to hotwire his car. They were sitting in his front seat twisting something in his key ignition, their bottom lip fit tight between their teeth and their eyes wide open. Kylo shook his head as he made sure his pistol was loaded, he knew one day this was going to happen. He took aim between two planks of wood and fired right through his windshield. He smiled as he saw the intruder now completely still with his head tilted back against the headrest, a bullet hole shot clean between his eyes. Kylo grinned to himself, he had always been a great shot.

The next day, as he was dumping his body as far out from his home as possible, he wondered how he could prevent encounters like this in the future. He had never even thought about someone coming along to steal his car all the way out here in the middle of nowhere, and if there were people willing to come inside of this dark cave would they be willing to do other things too? Like break his lock and try to enter his home? The thought made Kylo snarl at the dead man in the back of his truck, he wanted no one else to walk past those walls except for him.

As he buried the man in the sand about two miles away from his home, he thought the best course of action would be to get a dog. A big dog, a big, vicious dog that he could train to attack an intruder if necessary. He kicked some sand into the man's face, he had left the body partially uncovered to make it seem like the man had simply perished and was covered by the sand, along with his head he kept his hands mostly visible as he knew the desert wildlife would strip the man of his identity. It would look like an accident, and no one would suspect the lonely man hidden deep inside of the cave.

On his way back home he tried to follow a map in his head as to where the local ASPCA was, or where he could find a pet store so he could adopt a dog. Although, the more he thought about it the more he realized those two options would not be the best. Both of those places require multiple forms of ID to adopt their animals, and if there was one thing Kylo didn’t need it was to be ID’d. Maybe he could look in the newspaper for a dog to adopt, as long as he got to spend very little time with the owner. “Man.” He thought to himself. “This was more difficult than he thought.”

Suddenly there was a bump in the road under his car, one that made him jump in his own truck. He immediately pressed the brake, causing his tires to squeak in the sand. He jumped out and directed his attention to the driver’s tire and was devastated to see he had driven over a fox. He sighed, took a look around to make sure there were no other predators tracking it, and when he saw the coast was clear he jumped into his truck to retrieve his backpack where he kept his gloves and a plastic back specifically for hunting. Sure, he had the money to buy good food from the grocery store when he wanted or needed it, but more time in the city meant more opportunities for people to identify him, so most of the time he settled for food that he found in the wild. This meal just so happened to come right to him, and as he backed his truck up he wondered how he’d cook it tonight.

When he exited his truck the second time he was surprised to see not one red fur coat now, but three. There was one under his left tire, the fox he was going to originally collect, and under his passenger side tire was two more, smaller foxes. In the sand in between the tires sat a third fox, but instead of being dead, totally crushed from the weight of his vehicle, this was one alive, sniffing around and likely looking for its mother and siblings. Kylo’s face fell, realizing that he had taken this poor creatures entire family away from it. Kylo was good at killing people with no remorse, but animals that exist not to bother anyone was a whole nother story.

To make a long story short, Kylo left with all of the foxes that day, three for him to eat and one to train to protect him, and train her he did. He trained her to run through the small hole in the wall outside of his home when she heard a suspicious noise outside, if someone one entered his cave and saw a fox running toward them they’d just assume it was a fox den and leave. He raised it like a dog, to love him and be kind to him and, in turn, he was kind to her. He gave her the name Layla, a name of a ‘foxy’ girl he had known in the military. He fed her well, doing extensive research on foods that foxes eat and treating her to what he felt she deserved. It didn’t help that red was his favorite color and he had fallen in love with her once she curled up next to him in his little mattress. He thought for sure Layla would be the only living thing he’d ever be willing to share his cave with.

 

All of his hits were paid out in cash, so he always had money to pay for gas for his truck, soap for his baths and for washing his clothes, food that he wanted, and for his PO box in the next city over. He wasn’t cheap either, if you wanted a Hit done and done correctly, you went to Ben Solo and you paid up. 

He also was not stupid enough to accept hit requests from his PO box in the city, no. That was a rookie move that would get you arrested on the spot. Instead Kylo had informants, people who worked for him and watched out for him in the underground. You wanted someone dead? You talked to so and so, the bartender in New Mexico. You told him this and that and he’d point you in the right direction. Then you speak with so and so at the Walmart right on the Texas/New Mexico border, and after following Kylo’s chain of command a letter containing all of the information needed as well as his payout is delivered right to his cave, kept in a rock just to the left of his door. No one found out where he lived and no one went to his cave other than his delivery man, he never met his clients in person. Everyone receives a cut of the pay and everyone is happy when one more person is removed from this planet.

This job, however, was huge. One morning before going out for his daily target practice he checked the rock his informant left his pay under, there he found a letter and no cash. He furrowed his brows, confused as to why his informant would go out of his way to leave him just a note. He knew Kylo wanted cash up front, there were no exceptions to this rule. He opened the letter and began reading, cocking his rifle under his arm for the time being.

 

_ Client checked out. Meet at the park in town. 10 am. Five days from now. Bench dedicated to P. Amidala on the west side of the park. Client will discuss then. “My wife is coming” code word. _

 

Kylo squinted his eyes, this was suspicious. He’d have to find a way to verify that nobody in his chain of command was being threatened into this. 

He drove into town and contacted everyone on his pay as you go phone he brought, listening out for the phrase “Let’s have lunch at Lupe Tortilla” for that meant the line is tapped or someone is watching them. But there was nothing, speaking in all of the code words he had made up for his crew everything seemed to work out. He decided to trust his crew and meet this client, just to see what would make this person so important he had to see Kylo in the flesh about this hit.

Sitting on the park bench reading a newspaper and, occasionally, throwing bread crumbs to the pigeons down below him. He had been on the bench since 9 AM sharp and had a pair of headphones in his ears pretending to listen to music until a tall, slender man in a tan trench coat sat down at exactly ten AM and informed Kylo that his wife was coming. 

“Speak.” Was the only thing Kylo said, throwing another round of bread crumbs on the ground for his pigeons and going back to looking at his paper. The man sat hunched forward, looking on at all of the park patrons on the warm morning as he began to speak in hushed tones, lowering his voice to nothing when someone would walk by. “I need the leader of the militia group that’s been terrorizing the US government for years dead. The First Order, I trust you’ve heard of them?” 

“Consider it done.” Kylo said, turning his head and looking at the second page of the paper. “Body disposal?” He asked, not everyone realized that hitman also had to be precise in the way they make their targets disappear. Some people want bodies to be found, some people want ashes scattered all over the globe as to not be found ever again. Each had their own advantages but Kylo was open to doing anything. “Whatever you think is best.”

“What about my pay?” Kylo said, wishing he could side eye the man he was speaking with. If he thought Kylo was about to execute an entire hit start to finish with no pay then he was simply out of his mind. “You’ll get your pay when the job is done. It’s a huge job and will take a while, I’ll keep in touch.”

“I won’t do an entire job with no pay. I need at least half down.”

“Like I said, you’ll get your pay when you earn it. I’ll be in touch with your men. In the meantime, take this as an IOU.”

The man he was speaking to stood up and let something fall out of his back pocket and onto the bench. After one full minute Kylo took the slightest look over and saw it was an ID sitting face down on the bench. He picked it up and was startled to see it was a United States Secret Service ID. It seemed the man who set this all up was called Poe Dameron. 

Kylo laughed as he cooked dinner for him and Layla, looking back over the ID and wondering if this Dameron fellow took him for a fool. A job this big, to take out the head of a heavily armed and dangerous group would cost at least 1.5 million. This kind of thing required infiltration, lots of sneaking around and making connections and, should anything go wrong Kylo could lose his life. There was no way he was even going to start researching a man like this with no money down.

He sat down for dinner, placing Layla’s pink bowl filled with cooked, unseasoned chicken, patting her on the head as they ate by mostly candlelight. “Who do these people think I am, Layla?” He asked, looking at his own bowl of chicken and cooked kale. He had spoiled himself on his way out of the city that day, picking up some good spices and a package of two chicken breasts. He cut one in half and stored the other one in his fridge, hoping to have it for lunch tomorrow. Half went to Layla and half went to him, and he was happy to be home and eat the food he had been thinking about all day.

Just as he stabbed the chicken with his fork there a noise at his front door. Layla picked up her head but didn’t attack, it was a noise he had trained her not to attack at. 

His hit rock was jiggling.

Kylo cut his eyes, listening as the rock was put back down like it always was. Was that really his informant at this time of night? He checked his watch, it was going on 10 pm. This was very unusual. “Layla, follow.” He called out, he heard her whimper, assuming she didn’t want to be torn away from her dinner but, ever so loyal, she got up and followed her master anyway.

Pulling his pistol from his belt he held it up and looked through the peephole, no one was there and he couldn’t hear anyone, it really was his informant dropping off a hit this late. He opened his door and retrieved the rock from outside, sure enough an envelope tumbled out along with a note this time in handwriting he didn’t recognize:

 

_ This guy will be tough to track down, here’s the first part of your payment. _

_ I gave you my ID to report me, since you believe I’d short you for one of the biggest hits of your life. _

 

This must be Dameron. He rolled his eyes, believing the envelope would contain some minuscule amount of cash for his “first payment,” something in the neighborhood of a few hundred dollars. He stuck his thumb under the glue of the envelope, ripping it open as far away from his face as possible. He was shocked to find several wads of cash, wondering how he fit all of it under his rock. When he got inside of his home and counted out the cash it came up to exactly ten thousand dollars. Tucked into one of the wads was a small, yellow note:

 

_ We aren’t playing around. _

 

Kylo got to working, thinking if this man was serious and paid him ten grand he could at least do some research. If he wants more he’d have to pay more, it was simple to Kylo. He did as he was paid to do, having the information delivered and demanding more money if he the man wanted to go on with the hit. He spent his days doing research on the First Order militia, and what they stood for. They were basically a militant group hellbent on overthrowing the government. And man, were they hidden. 

Kylo could find no information on their whereabouts as hard as he dug, he could find nothing on their leader either. He found he’d have to get his chain of command after this group if he was going to do a hit, but that would cost another ten grand. 

He informed his delivery man to contact Dameron with the information he had uncovered and to let him know he would need another payment if he wanted anything else done.

Days went by and, sure enough, another envelope showed up at Kylo’s door, this time with 30 grand in it. Kylo smiled as he counted, this part of the hit was always the most fun.

Kylo’s informant spoke of a man that went by the name “Explorer” who hung out in the basement of a popular nightclub in San Antonio, he was the first step in infiltrating the First Order. He warned Kylo that this would be a step by step process, just like the process someone would have to go through if they wanted to hire him for a hit. 

“Well, good thing Dameron is a patient man.” He said as he handed him five thousand dollars for the envelope. 

Kylo decided to find “Explorer” On his own. As it turned out he was only at the nightclub0 on Wednesday nights between the hours of 10 pm and 3 AM. Kylo met him at midnight, he was a beefy man who wore torn wifebeaters and jean shorts with a flashy rainbow belt and dawned tattoos on nearly every inch of his body. 

After confronting him he led Kylo on a trail to the First Order, one that involved meeting lots of people, knowing a lot of code words, and, to Kylo’s surprise, involved fetching a lot of items for the militia. He had to collect up multiple types of ammunition for several types of guns, at least three different types of drugs, and two military grade weapons. This was one wild goose chase that took almost ten months to complete, but once he got word that The First Order was ready to allow him access to their compound, informing him that he had proven himself worthy enough to be indoctrinated into the militia. 

The morning he left for the city to be picked up by the militia he collected another 20 thousand dollar payment from Dameron and patted Layla on the head, he had given his informant strict instruction to come back and feed Layla every day, he knew she’d be lonely while he was gone.

He drove his truck to the city and parked it in a secluded parking garage, left the key behind one of the wheels for one of his informants to move in a few hours, then simply waited for the militia. He smoked a cig, leaned against his car, and just waited. The garage was empty, quiet, and lonely. He worried about Layla, he didn’t know for sure how long he’d be gone and he didn’t want her to run away or think he wasn’t coming back. 

Suddenly a green pick up truck rolled up the ramp, its tires screeching as it stopped right in front of him. “Get on the ground! Get on the ground with your hands on your buttocks!” Three men with guns jumped out, aiming the guns right at Kylo’s head; This must be the First Order.

Cooly, he put his cig out on the concrete ground then did as he was told, dropping his chest to the floor and placing his wrists together over his ass. The group of men slipped a blindfold on his face and cuffed his hands, then two of them grabbed him under his arms and lifted him up. They patted him down, removed his case of cigs, lighter, and wallet, then started to move him toward the truck. As they sat him down in the passenger portion of the truck Kylo was rolling his eyes, that was not smooth at all and he wouldn’t be surprised at all if the cops try and track these people down after what went down in the parking garage.

This was the First Order, and after all this hard work he was happy to have finally made some progress on this hit.


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I just wanna make it clear that there will be no underage sex in this fic at all.   
> Enjoy the chapter!

The green truck Kylo was being housed in began slowing down, they had driven over a bumpy road about ten minutes ago and Kylo knew they were getting close. No self-respecting “militia” would have their compound, their headquarters, stationed somewhere out in the open at the end of a paved road for anyone to be able to follow and find. They had to be buried deep in the woods to have some privacy. Militias were illegal after all.

“Here we are, Mr. Ren. Welcome to your new home.” Kylo sat still as the blindfold was forcibly removed from his face, he felt like he may have a cloth burn behind his ear as a result of his poor treatment. But it was an extremely minute price to pay for his huge payout once the leader of this organization was dead.

He rubbed his newly acquired sore spot as he took in the sights. It was true they were in the woods, there were trees and greenery everywhere he looked. He stole a look over his shoulder, just as he suspected there was next to no road or any indication that he could get himself back home. He wasn’t worried, though. He always had a plan B should he need to leave the base without any assistance 

The truck pulled up to a massive, solid, dark green wall and Kylo was impressed. The fact that such an unorganized organization could erect a ten foot tall wall seemingly without anyone noticing was beyond impressive. He began to rethink the ease of this hit, realized that their sloppy excuse for a “kidnapping” might have little to do with their internal system.

There were three men standing at the gate, all three wore black, two-dimensional outfits but only two held full on, military grade weapons in their hands and had on black helmets atop their heads. The third man stuck out like a sore thumb, the only one without a helmet on and his hair burned red like a forest fire. He was smiling at the driver as he pulled up, the window rolled down and he asked, “is the new recruit in the party?” The driver nodded his head then thumbed to the back of the cabin toward Kylo, to which Kylo turned his head forward. He didn’t want to look too interested in the conversation. After all, none of what they were saying would matter once their leader and or they were taken out.

In his peripheral vision Kylo watched as the redhead feasted his eyes upon him, grinning as if Kylo was his prey. Any other person would be intimidated by such a scary looking individual, but not Kylo. Kylo knew how to demand respect, and he knew how to handle those who refused to give it to them. 

“Very good. Take him to the residential neighborhood, I’ll meet you guys down there shortly.” The man driving the truck nodded his head, as he did the redhead gave the two other men standing at the gate a thumb up. An alarm sounded, Kylo assumed it was to warn those standing behind the gate to move, and soon the massive green doors were moving away from him. The two men guarding it moved out of the way as the redhead moved inward as the gate was opening, and once it became stationary again the driver pulled the truck forward.

The first thing Kylo could see was a pavilion, a pavilion that looked like it could be an outdoor church. It was made out of all wood, had several rows of wooden pews, a wooden stage with a wooden podium, and a First Order logo sat on the front of the podium. Internally Kylo was shaking his head, all it was was a circle with spikes surrounded by a hexagon. Whoever was in charge of marketing for The First Order should be fired, he felt the logo was too simple and too easily recreated. Should some hoodlums in the city want to break the law and blame the Order for their crimes, all they’d have to do is leave the symbol as a calling card on their handiwork, then the First Order would be at the center of every investigation.

“Here we are, Ren. First Order territory.” The driver said as Kylo began exploring his surroundings once more. There were people dressed in plain black and white walking about with notebooks, baskets of fruit, wooden planks, and other random objects in their hands. Their hair was all tied up off of their collars, just like it would have to be in the military and their clothes were clean and tidy. They weren’t smiling, they weren’t talking to each other, they were all simply walking to their destinations silently. He noticed that there were no children present, and he thought that would be for the best. Why would anyone want to raise a child in an environment like this?

The people parted their ways for the truck without laying an eye on it or it’s passengers, it gave off a very scary, cult like vibe. Like these people were trained to keep to themselves and to be unhappy, maybe it kept the outsiders away. 

Kylo looked on at the buildings that the truck passed, there was a gated swimming pool just past the pavilion and right next to it was a basketball court. Kylo couldn’t imagine those recreational areas were used very often as stuck up as these people looked. But then again, they could just be putting on a show since he was technically an outsider coming to look into the group. For all he knew as soon as he left or became a permanent member everything might pop with color and people might appear to be happier.

The truck moved on over the gravel and past some small, one story looking homes and into what appeared to be a motel. It had two stories, Kylo counted the number of doors and found there to be 30 rooms on the top floor and 30 on the bottom floor, maybe some more rooms around the back but they were only parked in the crook of the L shaped building. The doors were painted black and the side panels were painted grey as was the roof, this entire place was so boring. Once again Kylo was scolding them in his head, they had the right idea with the gate to paint it green, but the very least they could do was paint the top of the buildings green as well so they blended in with the forest. He wondered briefly if they had built this building themselves or if it was an abandoned motel they stumbled across and fixed up. Either way, it looked as if it was being well maintained and cared for.

“Alright, Mr. Ren. Step on out and Hux will meet you here for the grand tour.” Said the driver as he and the other man sitting in the passenger seat began exiting the vehicle. The man in the backseat with Ren once again poked him in the spine with his gun, prompting him to move as best as he could out of the car with his hands still cuffed behind his back. With their guns still pointed at him they told him to rest against the car, and as they shouted their orders at him a crowd was drawn toward them. People were coming out of the motel rooms and looking on at Kylo and the scene that the men were causing, once again Kylo was unamused. 

“I’m not a threat to you and your organization, you know. I’m not going to run off now that I’ve worked so hard to be here.” He said, leaning against the hood of the car just as they told him to. “Quiet!” One of the men shouted and stuck his gun into Kylo’s face, Kylo didn’t even so much as flinched. He knew these men were all bark and no bite, there would be no reason for the Order to have him killed when he had proven himself more than competent in aiding them, he just wished he didn’t have to be the voice of reason for the entire group, he thought this place was just awful.

“We can’t trust outsiders.” The man holding the gun to Kylo’s nose said, squinting and making it painfully obvious that he, unlike everyone else, did not trust Kylo. The other people that escorted Kylo onto the base were milling around, simply looking on at the two without doing anything. Maybe this person was always like this, so distrustful of others. Maybe the other men were used to this individual acting so terribly.

“Hold it, Anderson.” A voice rung out from behind Kylo, he didn’t dare turn around and look lest he risk this man, Anderson, forcing his weapon closer to Kylo’s face. “At ease, soldier.” The redhead stepped in front of Kylo and held his hand up, Kylo had to suppress the urge to giggle at the fact that these people are referred to as “soldiers.” 

“You can relax. He’s made it this far, hasn’t he?” 

“Well, I don’t know boss. He’s still an outsider, and you told us-”

“I said relax.” The redheaded man said, holding his hand up to silence Anderson. Kylo wondered about Anderson’s use of the word “boss,” this man was obviously above the head of the man holding him hostage, but he was certain the militia would not allow their leader, their founder, to just wander out in the open like this. Especially not in front of a newly recruited person. He turned to Kylo just as Anderson was lowering his weapon, smiling at him just as he did when Kylo was in the truck. “My apologies, Mr. Ren. My men can be skeptical at times, we haven’t had any outsiders on the base in quite some time.” Kylo nodded his head once, straightening himself off of the truck as he was obviously speaking to someone with authority. “Understandable.” Kylo said, the people who had come out of the hotel rooms were now returning with disinterest in their conversation.

“Armitage Hux. General of the Order.” The redhead introduced himself with an outstretched hand. Kylo accepted with a grin, leaving a great first impression with a strong handshake. “Glad to finally meet you, although I’m sure you already know all about me.” Hux looked down to the ground and snorted, the entire conversation seemed extremely fake to Kylo. He was only putting on an act.

“Of course I do, Mr. Kylo Ren. My men are very thorough with background checks for everyone who comes through those gates.” Once again Kylo nodded, thinking to himself that obviously wasn’t true. “What do you say I show you around? Now that you’re on your way to being a member of the First Order you’ll obviously want to know the ins and outs of the base.” His smile stayed plastered on his face the entire time, he couldn’t tell if this man was genuinely interested in speaking with him or not. “I don’t see why not. Lead the way.” Kylo said, faking enthusiasm. Hux began walking away and Kylo followed, ignoring the disgusted look Anderson was giving him while he clutched his gun close to him.

The entire tour took about an hour. Kylo listened intently while Hux went through the entire history of the order, explained what parts of the base were where, who worked in them, and what they did. After all of the explaining he went on to show Kylo around the compound. They started at the pavilion where group meetings were held, then made their way around to the market where clothing, food, and other goods were given out to the people. Hux carefully explained that there was no currency used in the Order, that all goods and services were traded amongst the people for free.

They passed a fields where people were growing various fruits and vegetables, then by a small farm where chickens, cows, and sheep were being tended. It was extremely small and Kylo only saw two of each kind of animal being cared for. “Everyone in the Order is vegetarian. We raise our own crops right inside of these four walls, we hardly have to rely on people from the outside to sustain ourselves.” Hux explained, Kylo didn’t particularly care. More power to these people if they could live off of their own land and look as good as they did. 

Hux showed him around the pool and basket ball area, explained that this was where most of the training took place for the soldiers. “And down the hill is the gun range. Our main building is an old motel that we fixed up, it was mostly used for people to practice short term at the gun range.” Kylo looked toward the back wall, he wondered how far away the gun range was from the base and if that’s where the compound stored their weapons. “And here is where you’ll be staying.” Both of the men stopped walking and stood right back where they started, in front of the old motel. 

“This is where most of our men and women stay. The majority of them are bunkered together, up to three people in one room but we have you staying alone for the mean time.” Kylo cut his eyes at Hux, he was so opposed to the idea of rooming with someone else he was almost ready to charge through the base and kill their leader at once. “Good, I’d like to keep it that way for as long as possible, General.”

“And why is that?”

“I enjoy my privacy. How do you think I had such ease getting all of the weapons and contraband to you?” Hux lifted his brows, giving Kylo a look that said, ‘you have a point.’ 

“Not a problem, let me show you to your room.” Hux said, still not promising Kylo a room by himself for long term.

There was more talk about the organization, Hux informed Kylo that all of their surplus food was kept in the basement of this motel and there was an activity room which housed alcohol and other fun things that the members can do during their time off. All the while they were climbing the stairs to the top floor of the motel, Hux also went on to explain more about the people who worked and lived within the Order. He was going on and on about one of the women who grew fruits, she was so good at what she did that Hux pulled her out of the combat training and kept her on food production. 

“She’s gotten so well at growing the biggest watermelons you’ve ever seen.” Hux smiled, Kylo wasn’t interested in knowing about fruit, he had stopped listening a while back. Suddenly a door flew open right in front of him. Kylo was startled, on instinct he reached for his pistol which was normally at his belt, but of course it wasn’t there. It was a young woman and the first thing Kylo noticed about her was her long, wavy, copper toned hair.

“Armitage! It’s cool you’re here, I need some help with my chemistry.” She waltzed past Kylo and right up to Hux  without even giving him so much as a glance. “I was doing it with Leuella but she doesn’t know the answer either. See?” She held a tablet in her hand, moving it forward to Hux to see. Kylo could see her eyes were icy blue just like Hux’s were, in fact she and Hux shared a lot of similar facial features. This woman could be Hux’s daughter, they looked so much alike. 

“Not right now, Poptart. I’m giving a tour.” Hux said, pushing the tablet away from him. Kylo watched as her soft, inquisitive face suddenly fell, her cheeks beginning to glow red as she slowly turned her head to the left to face him. For a second their eyes were locked together and Kylo could have sworn he felt his heart sit completely still in his chest. Even looking so flustered, she was beautiful. 

“Armitage, don’t call me that in front of other people!” She whined, clutching her tablet to her chest and stepping back. Just as she was another girl popped her head out from the room she came from, this one had long blonde hair and green eyes, not nearly as impressive as the girl, “Poptart,” was. “I told he he wouldn’t know Poppy.” she teased, right as she did the redheaded girl made a beeline for the door, slammed it right behind her. 

“I apologize, that was my young sister, Poppy. She must be having trouble with her homework.” Hux said as he once again started walking forward. “No issue, Chemistry can be tough.” Kylo said, looking back at the door and wishing she’d come back out. “Yeah, well it is college level chemistry, I think it’s too difficult for a 16 year old to accomplish but she begged me to get her into that class.” Hux rolled his eyes and Kylo’s heart sunk, she was a teenager, she was completely off limits.

“Any how, your room is right here at the end.” Hux said as he quickly stepped up to door number 25. “Here is your key, opens this room and only this room.” Hux unlocked the door and opened it, revealing a twin sized bed with black covers, a table and chair set, a small, flat screen TV, and a kitchenette--much like an actual motel room would have. “Here you are, Mr. Ren. On that table there is a list of events and your schedule for tomorrow. Just try to relax for the rest of the evening, I’ll see you bright and early tomorrow morning for some more training.” 

“Of course, General. Thank you for showing me around.” Kylo said, still trying to be formal while his mind replayed his interaction with Hux’s sister. The two men shook hands and then Kylo found himself alone once again, just the way he liked it. He surveyed his small room and his even smaller bathroom, this would be a hit unlike any other for him. 

He pulled up one of the chairs and sat next to the window in his room, it showcased the balcony outside of his door as well as the parking lot where he was first let out of the truck. He simply sat there and thought, planned, and wondered about what his next steps would be over the next few weeks, months, and maybe even years. He hadn’t mentioned anything about looking to meet the head of the Order to Hux because he thought it was too soon, he had to wait at least a month before wanting to meet the big boss. 

Every so often his mind would drift to the girl, the sixteen year old red head called Poppy. He hated that she was so young, he was so infatuated with her and her soft, shy voice. He knew nothing about her but already knew he wanted to be close to her, as close as he could get without being considered a threat to her or the people around her. He knew she was smart, the girl was 16 and taking college level chemistry for christ sake. He knew she was beautiful, and he knew her red hair was real and not dyed, since she was related to Hux.

He sighed, closing his eyes for just a minute to reroute his mind back to the reason he was even sitting in this little room to begin with. He needed to figure out how to get to the top as fast as he could.

Hours passed, and soon the sun had set on the compound. He had watched people walk into the entrance of the hotel with their hands full of books and food, likely going home to cook their dinner and relax just as Hux told him to do. He wasn’t hungry, he hardly was ever hungry. If anything he was tired and was ready to turn in for the night. He took one last look out in the parking lot and, much to his surprise, he saw two redheads, Armitage and Poppy, walking from the motel and toward the pavillion. The two stuck out due to their hair as well as they were walking against the crowd like salmon swimming upstream. Kylo blinked, this was hardly fair.

All those people were expendable. They listened blindly to the head of an unorganized militia, they changed their habits and personality to match everyone elses, just like a cult. They were all sheep. Kylo smiled as a thought ran through his head, a thought that he often thought when he was forced to go into town and endure the multitude of people who were also going about their day:

“I am a wolf and they are all sheep.” He thought, running his finger over his bottom lip and focusing all of his attention on the tuft of beautiful red hair that was Poppy Hux. “But her? She’s my red lamb.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Everybody meet our OC, Poppy Hux!


	3. Chapter 3

After three days on the base, doing basically nothing but following Hux around and letting him determine where in the base Kylo would fit in and what job he would be performing, Kylo finally got a chance to go back home. He had explained to Hux that he had a pet that he was worried about and wanted to go home at least every few days to care for it, which Hux allowed. It was always so strange to see the way Hux looked at Kylo, smiled at him unlike he smiled at anyone else. If Kylo didn’t know any better he’d say Hux placed a lot of trust in Kylo, and why wouldn’t he? He got the drugs and weapons with ease and he stayed quiet and to himself, he was the perfect person to be in a militia.

Kylo was dropped off at a fast food joint in the city where his vehicle was waiting for him in the parking lot thanks to one of his assistants. Originally he wasn’t planning on stopping for food, but after eating nothing but stuffed bell peppers, a few different salad variations, and omelets every morning for breakfast, Kylo was ready to sink his teeth in a triple bacon cheeseburger for the first time in months. He pulled his truck through the drive through and ordered his burger along with a large coke, large fry, and a smaller burger for his faithful companion back home, paid in cash, collected his food, and then pulled off in the direction of his beloved desert.

Back at his home he sat at his old, rickety, homemade wooden table and chair virtually alone. Layla had scarfed down her burger in a matter of minutes and, after unsuccessfully begging Kylo for more of his food, trotted off to go lay next to his backpack near the front door. After spending three days surrounded by other people and going right back to total solitude, one would think they would miss their company. But Kylo missed no one. Kylo was happy to be back in his near silent cave, alone with just his red fox.

Well, there was someone he wouldn’t mind spending more time with from the compound, and that was obviously Poppy Hux. Over the last three days Kylo had tried his best to get over her, for heavens sake he hadn’t even said anything to the girl. He took another look back at Layla, who was still sitting sadly next to his backpack and begging him for more food. It was shallow to only like a woman--no, girl--for her looks, but Kylo couldn’t help himself. Ever since he was young he had always been so attracted to women with red hair, he just found them to be so beautiful and so exotic looking. When it came to Poppy, the girl with long, beautiful, red hair and fair, soft looking skin, he just could not help himself.

Layla whined once more, walking over to him sadly right as Kylo finished the rest of his burger. “Sorry pretty girl.” He said, holding up his hands. “All done.” He smiled, but his fox looked less than amused. He reached down and patted his faithful friend on her head, then slipped her the last fry he had left which she gobbled down. 

In the last three days he wasn’t able to get that close to the girl, but having followed Hux around for three days he was able to see her from time to time. He learned that her favorite breakfast item was avocado toast with scrambled eggs and a fruit smoothie, he figured her favorite thing to wear was the color yellow as each and every day she always had on something yellow, and he figured she was very studious because she always had some sort of book with her. 

The worst thing about the girl that Kylo observed is she didn’t seem to have very many friends. He had mostly seen her with her brother and with the blonde haired girl, Leuella, and nobody else. He felt so sorry for her when he’d observe her sitting by herself under a tree near the animal fields, sometimes she’d be reading one of her books and other times she’d be sitting there just looking up at the sky. Kylo almost wanted to go over and sit with her, but would always fall short. He was 33 years old, he shouldn’t be hanging out with a 16 year old girl.

Instead, Kylo walked over to his whiteboard where he began to articulate what he knew about the militia from his small vacation with them. He wrote down the names of the members he knew and met and what they did (including Poppy, who simply got the tag “student”), he wrote down each of the buildings and the purpose they served, what the schedule around the base was, and anything else he could think of. Next he moved to the map of Texas and pinpointed where he figured the base was located, it was difficult only knowing the way to the restaurant where he was dropped off. When he took a step back and observed what he knew, he figured it was still too early to have a plan beginning to brew in his mind. He’d have to take some more time to study the group and see more about their leader.

It was now Kylo’s 4th week and he was at the gun range with Hux, showing off his skills per the request of the red haired general. He had hit the targets rearranged nearly spot on, he had to down play himself so that nobody suspected he was a skilled hitman. When he was finished shooting he handed the Walther P99 handgun to Hux, was staring at the shooting range with a rather surprised look on his face. “Impressive, Ren. Good to know that you’re skilled with handguns.”

“Not just handguns, I’m also trained in the use of shot guns and various types of rifles.” Hux shook his head as he removed the ammo of the handgun and inspected it, taking care to handle the gun respectfully. “Well I sure am happy you came along, we need someone who is good with guns in the Order, that’s for sure.” Kylo smiled, he did love his guns and he loved shooting them, one of the reasons why he made such a good hitman. “Always happy to help where I’m needed.” He stated full of pride, even if he had to fake some ignorance of guns and someone had to “teach” him how to handle them that would be fine, whatever got him through the ranks.

“But I was under the impression you teach all of your members how to properly handle guns. Couldn’t you have just trained one of them?” Hux shrugged his shoulders, looking over at the stockpile of different kinds of rifles that stood next to the range counter. “We do, we teach them basic gun safety and how to aim and the like, but we decided to bring you…” He turned to look at him, taking his pointer finger and placing it gently on Kylo’s chest. “Specifically  _ you  _ in for a specific job that needs to be done for one of our members.”

“Is that so?” Kylo asked, leaning on the counter, it was mid March but the air in southern Texas was always so hot, it was beginning to get to Kylo as he stood there in his black shirt and jeans. “It is, I was looking to hire a bodyguard for myself and my sister.” Kylo’s heartbeat fluttered at the mention of Poppy, but he tried to push his excitement down as he listened to what Hux had to say. “As the Order expands and moves forward to complete its goal, I worry about the more important members of our group. Although there haven’t been any attacks to us directly, once we began going public I know there will be trouble. As such, we’ve begun the process of bringing in new members as protection for others. Is that something you think you could do?” 

Kylo’s lips once again curled into a devious smile, if he became a bodyguard that would put him in the perfect position to get close to the leader of the Order. “It certainly sounds like something I could do.” Kylo thought about how he’d have to protect Poppy and what he’d have to protect her from, he had never seen her leave the base before. Hux was the same scenario, the only time he had ever seen Hux outside of the base walls was when he welcomed Kylo into the base. Then again, Hux  _ did  _ say he was trying to go a little more public with his militia, a bad move according to Kylo. He felt like the militia was better off changing their title to a “cult” and moving on. The Government was already aware of their shenanigans and wouldn’t let them off if they were caught.

“Great, we can discuss the terms in greater detail at a later date. For now why don’t you pack up and head home, spend some time with your little dog while he bring on some other candidates for other members. I’ll stay here and clean up the range.” Kylo nodded his head as he shook hands with Hux, then turned to make his way up the path back to the compound. He had been with the group for a full week this time and was ready to go home to his fox, peace and quiet, and to plot some more about what he had learned.

He trekked up the hill and into the back entrance of the compound, through the fields, and to the motel where people were beginning to file in for the night. It was 8 pm, curfew time for the faithful members of the Order. He was a special exception, since he always left the base after everyone had gone to bed to avoid any confusion or confrontation. He filed into the door using the entrance closest to the steps to his room, climbed the stairs along with everyone else, found his room, then decided to relax until he was cleared to leave. Kylo was allowed to remove himself from the base at ten pm when the “working class” of members went home, free from their own duties. 

While he waited he jotted down some notes he kept about the base. Even though they were mostly for adding to his whiteboard when he got home, they were innocent enough that, if found, they appeared to just be a schedule or a diary of sorts. As he chowed down on a plate of miniature muffins he was allowed to take back to his room, he noted what Hux had told him about his prospective position as a bodyguard.

 

_ Hux claims he needs bodyguards for his militia and he’s chosen me specifically. Little confused, told me about him and his sister but then mentioned other “important” members that need to be guarded too.  _

 

He wrote some more about more of the members he had gotten to know over the week when the clock finally struck ten, time for Kylo to be on his way home. He packed up his notebook in his backpack, stuck the rest of his muffins into the fridge for him to enjoy when he would come back in a few days, then stepped quickly and quietly through the halls of the motel, thinking about his fox and his solidarity once again.

His truck was parked outside of the gates as a way to shake things up. Tonight, instead of being dropped off at an undisclosed location where his assistant dropped his car off, he simply drove to the base and he’d be driving back. The gatekeepers bid him farewell and opened the gates for him, he smiled and nodded at them, then watched as they filed into the gate to retire for the night, the overnight guards would now begin to climb their ways into the night watch tower and sleep would overcome the base without him this time.

He walked the few feet to his parked truck and fished in his pocket for his keys. He grimaced when he didn’t feel them in his left pocket, so he checked his right and was even more irritated when they weren’t in there either. He set his backpack down on the hood and checked his back pockets, and when they weren’t there he unzipped his backpack and checked everything in there. No keys.

“Shit.” He said aloud, patting his pants one more time just to confirm that they were not on his person.  _ Where were his keys?  _ He retraced his steps in his head, he couldn’t recall having them in his room, couldn’t recall hearing them jingle on his way up to his room, the last time he could remember having them was when he had to run and get his old military ID from his car to show Hux before going down to the gun range.

“ _ Shit!”  _ Once again, he spoke to himself. He set them down on the wooden railing when he pulled his wallet out and was so excited to have learned about his progress in the Order on his way out that he forgot to grab them. He looked over in the basic direction of the shooting range, it would take him forever to walk down there when he had to walk around the base and down the hill, but really he had no choice. The gate guards were already gone and he was certain the night tower people wouldn’t be able to see him unless he walked real far out and shouted, jumped up and down, or the like. He blew an angry puff of air out from between his lips, he figured if he started now it would only take him half an hour to get down there, even longer to get back as it was uphill. 

He begrudgingly made his way around the east wall of the compound and then down the dark trail that led to the shooting range. As quietly as he could he opened the small, squeaky gate that kept the wild life mostly out of the range, then made his way over to the exact spot he remembered leaving his keys earlier that day. He pocketed his keys and took a step back, admiring the guns before he turned to make the hike back to his car. Before he could, however, he noticed something was off about the collection of handguns.

He took a closer look, using the silver light of the moon to illuminate his view. One of them was missing along with a silencer accessory that would normally have been mounted right above it. 

Kylo’s guards immediately went up, someone was around that had stolen a First Order gun and silencer and could be pointing it right at him. He surveyed his surroundings as carefully and quietly as he could, and when his eyes swept across the horizon pointing away from the compound he saw something odd. Out in the distance he saw a light bouncing down toward the woods, it was obvious that it was being carried by a person but he didn’t know who it was or what they were carrying. Kylo had to find out who it was, they were likely the one who stole the gun and silencer and he had to know where they were going. 

He kept his distance as he walked another 15 minutes out into the woods until the tablet came to an abrupt stop deep in the woods. He watched from behind a tree as it bounced around, then fell onto the ground for a moment before the sound of a generator cord being pulled a few times startled him. Suddenly light surrounded him and the person who stole the gun was revealed: 

Poppy Hux. 

Kylo’s eyes turned wide as she saw her red hair tied up in bun on top of her head, she was wearing a yellow camisole and extremely short jean shorts, the gun tucked into her waistband. Kylo watched her as she set up her scene, moving to a stack of targets off to the left of the generator and hanging one on a nearby tree. Kylo probably should have stopped her then, seeing as though he knew nothing about her gun knowledge and didn’t know anything about the little area they were currently in. But he couldn’t, he wanted to see what she would do since she believed she was alone.

Kylo watched from behind her as she untucked the gun from her waist, she pulled the silencer from her pocket and fumbled as she tried to attach it. Kylo shook his head as she tried for five minutes, but couldn’t get it. She turned around, placing the silencer back into her front pocket, looking on at where she came from while Kylo stepped closer to the tree to hide himself. She bit her lip, Kylo was sure she was assessing how far away from the base she was, if she shot a handgun would anyone at the base hear it.

With an unsure shrug of her shoulders, she turned back toward the bullseye and took aim, Kylo immediately noticed a problem but wanted to see how long it would take for her to figure it out herself. Poppy’s entire rib cage expanded as she took in a large breath, Kylo smiled as he knew she didn’t take off the safety before aiming. 

He observed the smallest movements in her arm muscles as proof that she had just tried to pull the trigger, he giggled when she tried again, then a third time. She’s smart, she’ll figure it out, he was sure of it. She tried one more time before dropping her arm, inspecting the gun in her hand before turning it on herself, looking down the barrel and continuing to assess it.

The sight made Kylo immediately jump from the bushes, that was the first thing he had learned when he was a beginner with guns: Never turn the gun on yourself or on anyone you are not intending to shoot. The last thing he wanted to see was Poppy accidentally shoot herself, then have to explain why the two of them were alone in the woods and why only one of them ended up with a gun shot wound to her head.

As calmly and quietly as he could he stood and took a step toward her, holding his hand out as a way to come to her in peace. “Poppy!” He said, and unfortunately he had startled her. She jumped up and pointed the gun right at him, the look on her face screamed fear and reaction at him. Now she had both hands on the gun and was pointing it right in between Kylo’s eyes, this was not how he intended to end his night

“Woah! Remove your finger from the trigger now!” Kylo warned, standing as still as he could and trying not to appear to be a threat.

“I’m sorry! I’m sorry please don’t tell my brother! I’ll put it back, I’ll--”

“Put the gun down Poppy! Put it on the ground!” As much as he loved her voice he didn’t want to hear her speaking while a gun was pointed at him, so once again he urged her to drop her weapon. She stared at him, looking lost and horrified she did as she was told. She moved slowly and clearly, setting the gun onto the ground below her. “Do you want--should I kick it to you?”

“Absolutely not. Just let me come confiscate it.” Kylo said as he stood, now feeling infinitely safer without the gun being an issue. He walked over to her slowly, bent over to pick up the gun and tucked it safely into his pocket. “Silencer.” He said as he held out his hand, Poppy’s face melted from fearful to defeated as she reached into her pocket and removed the cylindrical tool and handed it begrudgingly to him. Once Kylo had collected up the two pieces he stood over her and stared, he hadn’t ever gotten this close to her alone before and was trying not to let the moment fade too fast. 

“I’m sorry, I’ll go back to the compound just please don’t tell my brother.” Her arms were hanging sadly by her sides as she pouted toward the ground, unwilling to look Kylo in the face as she apologized. “Please don’t tell Armitage, he’ll get so mad at me!” Her deep blue eyes finally met his and he was struck by the look of sorrow on her face. He didn’t care why she was down here, it obviously had something to do with the fact that Hux likely didn’t let her train with guns. Why should she know if she was getting a bodyguard soon anyway?

“What are you doing down here girl? It’s nearly 11 pm.” Kylo said, trying not to sound very strict. She sighed, and as a tear fell down her freckled cheeks Kylo realized he had failed at not stressing the poor girl out. “I just, just wanted to…” She took a look behind her at the target on the tree, then to the gun in Kylo’s pocket. With a heavy sigh and more tears spilling down her cheeks she once again urged Kylo not to tell Hux, assured her she’d go back to the compound that very second and he’d never have to worry about her again.

“You aren’t in trouble, Poppy.” Kylo said, of course he’d not tell Hux that he caught his sister down here trying and failing to shoot a gun. “What do you mean?” She asked him, wiping her tears away. “I mean, I’m not gonna tell your brother you were out past curfew if you’d just tell me why you were out in the first place.” Kylo leaned forward, giving her a gentle and reassuring smile. She seemed a bit hesitant at first but taking a look at the gun in Kylo’s pocket she finally spoke up again. “You’re gonna think it’s silly.” She said as she turned toward the tree, slouching as if she were upset about something. Kylo wanted to roll his eyes, he was a man of his word and hoped Hux would have relayed that information to his soldiers as well as his own sister.

“Alright, how about I teach you how to shoot this gun?” He offered, teaching others how to shoot could be fun, and he couldn’t imagine any reason why he couldn’t teach Poppy. Nobody had to know, it could be their little secret. “Let me teach you how to properly shoot a handgun, then you can tell me this silly little secret as to why you’re sneaking out past curfew, stealing guns, then coming down here to this little abandoned shack to shoot them.” Kylo removed the gun from his pocket and pointed it toward the sky and it was the first thing that actually put a smile on Poppys face. “You won’t tell my brother?”

“I promise I won’t tell your brother.” Her smile grew bigger, she was so beautiful. “Deal.” She said, and soon Kylo was off to start teaching his red lamb about gun safety.

Kylo started with showing her how to apply the silencer and she got that down fairly quickly. He started his lesson by teaching her about gun safety, before Kylo’s grandfather would even let him look at a gun he taught him about how to handle them and how to respect them. They’re a weapon, they’re meant to kill, they’re not a toy. 

When he felt like she understood what he was talking about he started to set her up to shoot a gun for the first time. “Stand just like that, your feet shoulder length apart.” He said, placing his hands on the bare, smooth skin of her shoulders. This was like a dream come true to him, he never thought he’d be this close to her or even touching her in his life. “Just like that.” He purred in her ear, if she were uncomfortable then she didn’t show it so Kylo kept on. 

“This won’t work, you can’t have your hair in your face like this, it’s going to distract you.” Earlier while Kylo was teaching her about gun safety she had let her hair down, presumably to fiddle with her hair tie. Kylo had zero complaints of course, if there was one thing he loved most about Poppy it was her gorgeous red hair. 

So he jumped at the opportunity to touch it, moving it slowly out of her face and tucking it behind her ears and neck.  _ God.  _ Her hair was so soft, so lovely, just as he expected it to be. She hardly moved, just let him manhandle her hair as he did. “You ready?” He whispered in her ear, she nodded approvingly. Kylo took a step closer to her, his body was nearly flush with hers as he took ahold of her arm. “Now, you’re gonna wanna take aim…” He said as he lifted her arm to the target. “I want you to breathe, there’s no reason to be afraid of the gun. Keep your arm straight, look straight ahead at the target, and breath.” He let his fingers linger a little bit longer than he should have on her arm. 

“Relax, Poppy.” He said, bringing his other arm around her waist to hold her steady, she was shaking and that would definitely throw off her aim. “Being jittery won’t help you shoot, there’s nothing to be nervous about.” He felt Poppy take a short and jagged breath, he couldn’t tell if she was nervous about him or about shooting. It was best to get on with it and get on with it quickly, he didn’t want her going around saying he had fondled her in the woods and a gun was involved. “When you’re ready, hold it firmly and squeeze the trigger gently. There’s no rush.” He said. The muscles tensing in her arm was the only warning he got before he saw the gun jump in her hand, the silencer did its job in masking the noise of the gun and soon he was staring at a bullet hole in the target she had mounted, right on the line between the bullseye center and the white ring around it.

“I did it!” She said, jumping up and out of his arms. “Hey, be careful. You’re holding a loaded weapon. Kylo scolded her, but she was still so elated. She took one more look at the gun before she handed it to Kylo, then continued to jump around. “I did it! I did it! I shot a handgun!” Kylo couldn’t help but to smile at her excitement, truth be told this was the exact same reaction he had when he first shot a gun. He was proud to know he had taught her and made her so happy. “Thank you, Mr. Ren. Oh thank you!” She said, bouncing over to the target and removing it from the tree. She admired it as if it was a diploma, she was adorable.

“Now, before I head home how’s about you tell me why you were out here trying to shoot in the first place?” Kylo said with a smile, how bad could it be? The girl wanted to be like everyone else on her compound and learn how to shoot a simple handgun. But for whatever reason her brother wouldn’t let her. “Oh, right.” She said, marching over to the pile of targets and placing her target back into the pile.

“Nobody on the base has wifi except for us, but one day while my friend was over at my home we were on our tablet and saw a rumor about our militia.” 

“Oh really?” Kylo said, they were both smiling. Kylo figured it would be some foolish girl talk that would mean very little to him or something preposterous like the government was coming down to raid them. Kylo had connections and friends in high places, if the government was about to bring harm to the militia while he was there, he’d know and he’d have time to get himself out if he needed to. 

“Yeah, someone was saying that legendary hitman Ben Solo was coming to take out my brother.” 

It was hard for Kylo to keep the smile on his face, but he felt the blood in his veins stop and run ice cold. For all he knew the base would be on lock down tomorrow and he’d never be allowed back in. Kylo tried to hide the panic in his voice, if Poppy and her friend knew that, did Hux know? Did they know that  _ he  _ was Ben Solo? 

“And you want to learn how to protect him, like a good little sister?” Poppy giggled in response to his question, obviously he was doing a good job of hiding his emotions. “Yeah, but he won’t even let me look at the guns. So when we found this place the other day I figured it would be a good way for me to practice.” She looked at him for approval, only after picking up her tablet to get ready to leave.

“Well, I see no issues with this. You tell him if he has a problem with you learning how to shoot then he can come to me.” Kylo said, lightly and playfully punching Poppy on the shoulder. “It’s getting late, let me walk you back to the base. Your brother might notice you’re gone soon.” Kylo said just as his panic and insecurity began fading away. “Good idea.” Poppy said, moving to the generator and switching it off, the light disappeared around them as she did and Kylo felt empty. “Here, I’ll light our path!” Poppy said gleefully, stepping out in front of him so her tablet could light their way. Once they had begun moving away from the small shooting range Poppy took him by his muscular arm. “Oh, and thank you for teaching me, Mr. Ren!” 

“Oh please, don’t make me sound old. Just call me Kylo.”

Kylo was sure that she was smiling at her, but as soon as they had left the range Kylo’s attitude had switched from panicked to curious. What did Poppy mean by “taking out her brother?” 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Good job, Poptart.


	4. Chapter 4

Kylo was driven past the gates and up to the motel to unpack his things as he usually did when he hitched a ride to the compound. This week was special, Hux had told him right before he left that he’d be undergoing an evaluation off of the base. He had that to look forward to, it would help him get a better idea as to what was nearby the base as well as give him an idea as to what these people acted like in public. Absentmindedly he trekked up the stairs and to his room, opened his door and unpacked his backpack as usual, there was nothing out of the ordinary for him to observe at the time. 

It was lunch time and Kylo hurried down to the cafeteria just as everyone else had, stood in line and got something he didn’t usually eat from one of the vendors: A spinach and cheese calzone. “Baked fresh, just for you Mr. Ren!” The rotund man smiled at him as he handed the pastry to him and Ren smiled back, he tried not to fraternize with these people too much but it seemed everyone already knew him around the base. Oh well, he thought to himself, then turned to go back to his room.

He took a few steps before someone ran head first right into his chest, causing him to stumble back and nearly drop his calzone. He was irritated to say the least, but he didn’t intend to cause a scene in the cafeteria for everyone to see. He collected himself, moved his calzone back to the center of the place and looked up to see who had bumped into him.

“My bad, man. I apologize I didn’t see you there.” The young man that pushed him had on an orange and brown leather jacket with a black shirt and jeans, dressed similar to Kylo only with a flashy jacket. Kylo would dress to blend in, but this individual was dressed to stand out. “Not a problem.” Kylo said, looking him up and down as if to warn him against doing it again. He was just about to step out of his way and continue on to his bedroom when the man’s face lit up with a look of excitement. For a second Kylo worried, the man recognized him obviously, but who did he recognize him as? 

“Kylo Ren! You’re Kylo Ren!” He exclaimed, drawing the attention of one or two people around them. Kylo smiled quite awkwardly, it wasn’t as if he was a celebrity on the base, he didn’t understand why this man was so excited to see him. “Yes, hello.” Kylo said in a near whisper, once again trying to make his way around the man. “Oh, hey!” Said the man as he enthusiastically stepped in front of Kylo, much to Kylo’s annoyance. “I’m Finn, I’m another bodyguard in training.” He held his hand out for Kylo to shake and, even though Kylo was uncomfortable, he accepted the handshake. “Good to meet you.” Kylo said in quick reply. 

Another bodyguard? This would have to go down onto Kylo’s whiteboard. 

Before Finn could utter another word Kylo took a forcible step aside him, not caring what Finn had thought of him. He was hungry and ready to have some more alone time in his room.

Kylo tried his best not to think anymore about the new bodyguard, he felt like he was spending too much time worrying about his own bodyguard status, as if Finn would be coming along to take his job when he wasn’t even offered a position in the first place. It made Kylo scoff at his own reflection, what did Finn even know about being a bodyguard? Kylo had acted as so many different professions to get a hit in: Chefs, bikers, gamers, and even once a babysitter. And he put his all into every single one of them. As he passed the comb through his thick, raven black hair he decided that he wouldn’t let this Finn individual get in his way. If need be, he would add a second person to his hit list.

 

A new ritual that Kylo had indulged himself in happened at exactly 10 pm every night. He’d wait by his window until he saw Poppy’s head full of crimson hair pass by, her tablet lighting her way through the old, crumbling parking lot to the rear entrance of the compound. Then he’d silently traverse his way through the compound as well till they both met at the shooting range. The two would then travel out to the old, abandoned shack that was also used for target practice and he’d help her learn how to shoot. This went on every night that he was on the compound after he had caught Poppy trying to learn how to shoot by herself, and boy, he had so much fun with her. She was a great learner and was willing to let Kylo show her new techniques, his techniques, and she was just a pleasant person to be around.

He didn’t try to push his luck by asking more questions about the leader of the group, fearing it would make him look too suspicious. Instead, he talked about guns, talked about anything she wanted to talk about with him. And boy, did she like to talk. Some nights she would talk about everyone and everything around the base, telling him about how Bryce who works in sanitation once got caught smuggling a burger into the compound and everyone got angry at him, or about how Miles Gage got Sarah Holton pregnant and they were banished from the Militia because the pregnancy was not approved. He learned a lot from her by just soaking in all of the information she gave out, but practically none of it was what he needed to know.

One night Kylo waited diligently by his window waiting for Poppy to walk by. It was 9:58, she’d be walking by in about two minutes and Kylo was excited to spend time with her again. He had seen her every night for the past three nights and each time he got to hear her speak, each time he got to run his hands over her arms to help her aim, each time he got to get incredibly close to her, his heart rate would soar and he’d feel like the luckiest man in the world. They had spent so much time together that he felt like they were friends, and surely if she were 18 Kylo would have had no problem inviting her out on a date. It was too bad she was so young.

During the day was different. During the day they had to pretend like they knew nothing about one another. Kylo ritually saw Poppy every day during meal times where he’d say a simple ‘hello’ and ‘goodbye,’ and often he saw her at other odd points of the day as well. Sometimes she’d be helping care for the animals in the field, collecting up chicken eggs to be cleaned and handed out to the group. Sometimes he’d find her at the pavilion reading one of her books, working on her class work on her tablet, or chatting with her friend. Sometimes he’d even see her following behind her brother as well as the new bodyguard like a baby duck, going to wherever they needed to go to that hour. But it would always be the same, just a smile and a nod of his head. He didn’t need anyone wondering if he had any other feelings toward her.

But tonight was different, tonight Poppy didn’t go walking past the motel like she usually did. Kylo waited and waited, and once 10:10 came ticked by he worried. He had spoken to Poppy at breakfast and at lunch that day and she hadn’t even so much as hinted at the fact that their shooting practice would be canceled. He hadn’t seen her at dinner time and now he wondered if she was okay. She had never seemed to get herself into trouble from what he could see and he was sure her brother would not let any harm come her way, but it didn’t stop him from worrying about her on this particular night.

He convinced himself that she was fine, that she would just be running a bit late and would be right behind him if he left for the range. He made his way toward the back entrance, pushed the much smaller gate till he could just fit his body through, then walked down the path toward the shooting range. Normally Poppy lit her way down the hill with her tablet, but Kylo had this path memorized and didn’t need much light. He walked slowly and carefully, feeling the rocks and dirt under his shoes as to not trip and fall. It was colder this evening, he noted as he shoved his hands into his pockets. There was no light down at the shooting range, it was clear she was currently not there waiting for him.

He sighed, figuring he could wait a few minutes for her down here, he was still convinced she was just running a bit late for him. Truth be told he’d be very disappointed if she didn’t show, he had come to enjoy his late nights with his little red lamb a lot by now. He was sure if she didn’t show that it would be for just one night, he imagined she’d come and apologize profusely the over breakfast the next day and make plans for that evening. But until then, he reasoned with himself that he could wait down here for another five minutes.

He perched himself on the wooden railing surrounded by darkness and silence, observing the lights as they shined over the wall of the compound. He was in the middle of imagining the gate opening and seeing her tablet bobbing down the hill toward him when, over to his right, he heard a noise. A peculiar noise that shouldn’t have existed out so late at night. It sounded like a giggle, a girlish, young sounding giggle. Kylo furrowed his brows as he looked over toward the sound, it was too dark to see anything that wasn’t right in front of him. 

His hopes were answered, however, when an orange flame flickered on in the directed that he was looking. The first thing he saw was the new guard, Finn, his hand on an oil lantern that hung from a tree branch above him. He was smiling down at someone, but the small flame barely illuminated anything other than his face and Kylo was only close enough to determine it was him.

Kylo jumped off of the railing and squatted down behind it, squinting to aid his sight as he hid himself. He was skeptical, the giggle had obviously not come from him and Kylo was dying to know who he was with. There was a faint, near silent female voice uttering something and Kylo couldn’t make out what they were saying. 

“Oh really? I find it hard to believe no one has ever kissed those beautiful lips of yours.” Finn spoke much louder than his female companion, it also helped that Kylo was so good at reading people’s lips. Once again, a girly giggle and some more speech that Kylo couldn’t comprehend. He saw Finn lift his hand and place it on the woman's face and drawing her closer to him, his thumb resting on her chin right under her lip. “Well, I think it’s time for your first.” He said, biting his lip. Kylo rolled his eyes, he was sure there was a rule against relationships in the Order and, even if he wanted one, Finn had only been on the base for a few days. No one would ever approve of a relationship for him.

Kylo watched as he brought the woman’s head up closer to him, thinking about what he’d say to Hux when he saw him tomorrow at roll call. Recruits that messed around like this is what causes organizations to crumble, and he didn’t want the Order to crumble before he could take out their leader.

The woman got closer to him, her face finally illuminated by the flame and their lips met, as they did Kylo nearly vomited. Not because of the sight of Finn kissing someone, no, Kylo was able to stomach watching people get intimate. But because of the woman he was kissing. 

Kylo saw the red hair, the cute button nose, the long lashes, and the beautiful smile. His scowl quickly turned to a pained, sorrowful frown as he watched her eyes close in bliss, his lips moving so expertly over hers. He felt as if the wind had been knocked completely out of him, he was witnessing her very first kiss--and the jealousy ran through him like the most painful electric shock he ever had. His skin burned with hatred for the man, he was at least 20 and Poppy was so young. The only reason why he hadn’t made any moves on her was because she was not 18, so any kisses, hugs, or any sexual advances and the like that occurred between them would be illegal and could land him in jail. 

But there she stood, accepting Finn’s kiss as if it didn’t matter to him or her. Kylo would never admit it to himself, but had he known she had never kissed anyone before he would have wanted her first kiss to be with him.

A single tear ran down his face. He was beyond hurt. 

Angrily he stood and made his way up the hill as quietly as he could, not wanting to draw attention to himself and his current state of sorrow and animosity. He actually felt like he could sit and have a good cry by himself, his heart was aching because Poppy was not his. She couldn’t be his, he had told himself this several times over. She was young, she was Hux’s sister, she just couldn’t be his because it would be too strange of a situation for everyone involved. 

He knew that they would never be able to be together, but he had the hardest time accepting the fact that she could have other people. She didn’t even know how he felt about her, why should Kylo be this distressed over such a revelation? 

He didn’t know, he didn’t want to know. The only thing he wanted in that moment was his home and his fox, and he was determined to get away from everyone on this base to be with them for a short amount of time.

 

After flagging down one of the night watchmen and having them escort him to the library in the city, he made a phone call and had his truck dropped off to him. He drove out to his cave fighting tears the entire time, the cool night Texas air blowing through his truck and numbing his aching body. As much as he tried not to, the only thing he could think of was her lips on his.

_ It should have been me. _

_ It shouldn’t have been him. _

The more he thought, the more tears he produced. He wiped them with the back of his hand, trying his hardest to concentrate on the road. It had been so long since he had cried, he had always tried to consider himself emotionless. There was no room for emotions when you’re a hitman, you can’t be fearful or sorrowful or even elated when you’re killing someone, so he had learned to suppress such emotions even in his day to day life. He hadn’t realized they were working so well until he felt the sting of the wind on his wet face, he felt so weak for crying over a woman he couldn’t have.  

Eventually he made it to his safe haven, pulled the truck all the way up until the wooden planks were visible in his headlights. Immediately he turned his car off, got out and slammed the car door behind him. He unlocked the silver and blue padlock and threw his wooden door open, he heard Layla barking in response to his return. At this very moment, however, he couldn’t be bothered. Layla trotted up to him but he marched right past her. 

His cave only had two rooms: his bedroom and the kitchen and dining area, each separated by handmade wooden walls. He stomped into his bedroom, sniffing as he collapsed onto the mattress that was stationed on the floor. He buried his face in his hands, he had a splitting headache and still felt as if he was going to vomit. He heard Layla pad into the room, whimpering as if to say “why haven’t you greeted me?” He did feel bad for her, but his self loathing and pity took a priority in the moment. Poppy, his little red lamb would never be his.

The thought sent him into tears, he sobbed openly this time knowing no one would be around to see or hear him. His sorrow echoed off of the polished cave walls, he couldn’t handle himself or his emotions at the moment and, really, he didn’t care. He needed this moment to sit and cry, to allow his emotions to run freely as it was the only thing that would help him feel better.

“Poppy.” He moaned into his palms, even just saying her name left him feeling empty and dead. “Poppy!” He shouted, causing his fox to jump back in fear. He looked down at her, he was convinced in that moment that she was the only creature on this planet that would love him. He sighed, reached down and patted her on the head. Poor Layla, poor him. He figured she was probably hungry, and even if she wasn’t he wanted to spoil her; she deserved it after how he came home and ignored her.

Begrudgingly, he stood and made his way out of his bedroom and over to his kitchen area, he was sure he had some cooked chicken or some beef that was still good for her. He reached into the fridge and some cooked ground beef, set the entire bowl down on the floor instead of putting it in her pink dog dish for her. He didn’t care at the moment, the dish could always be washed later.

He stood and watched over his companion eat her food, blinking the soreness out of his eyes. Once he was able to see clearly he noticed a fly buzzing around his head. As if his mood wasn’t low enough at the time, there was a fly bothering him. If there was one thing Kylo hated it was bugs, bugs of all kind. But flies were among the worst, because they don’t do anything to help him in particular. He lived in a cave, the only bugs that lived with him were too big for flies to eat and he had no houseplants for the flies to help keep alive. They were a nuisance, only coming into his house to annoy him. 

He reached over on his wooden counter and got out his fly swatter, he took solace in the fact that he’d be getting a chance to take his anger out on something that deserved it. 

He stalked the fly until it landed on his cave wall. Using his stealthy hitman skills he slowly made over to it and, when he got close enough to the wall, he went in for the kill, using an excessive amount of rage and energy. With a growl he slammed the plastic part of the fly swatter to the wall, a satisfactory splat noise rang in his ears right afterword. He took a breath, closed his eyes for a moment and once he was calmed he lifted it and saw his handiwork. Sure enough, the fly was in a dozen black, wet, oozing pieces. He sighed, then threw it into the sink. He hated the fact that he could not stop the flies from entering his home, but loved the fact that he could kill them once they got there.

It was so late at night he decided that it would be best for him to just turn in for the rest of the night. He whistled for Layla to follow him to their room, ready to feel his mattress under his skin and for the sweet, numbing aid called sleep to take over him. 

He settled himself under his thick blanket and just stared up at the ceiling, both of his hands under his head as if he was gazing at the stars. He wanted Poppy, he wanted his red lamb. He closed his eyes, instead deciding to think about the annoying flies in his home. The buzzing, the unsanitary aspect, it was so wrong. Those fuckers all deserved to die in his opinion.

Suddenly his eyes flew open, he thought back to his thought of the flies: No, he couldn’t stop Poppy from seeing other dudes, he couldn’t stop them from seeing her either. But he could drive them away, not necessarily kill them, but he could find ways to keep them apart. It was petty, but the thought made him smile. 

He sat straight up, he was sure he didn’t want Finn to be killed, but there must be something he could do to break the two apart. Something that he could do to frame him, or to get him kicked out of the Order or banished to a portion away from Poppy. He scowled, thinking as hard as he could until he could almost see the light bulb appear over his head.

He jumped straight off of the mattress and into the dining area once again, Layla following closely behind him with her ears perked up in interest. He gathered up his notepad and started to scribble a note for his delivery man to take whenever he got a chance to come up to the cave--hopefully sooner rather than later. 

 

_ Request incriminating evidence from client Poe Dameron immediately. _

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Have ya heard of Nintendo Labo? I've been having way too much fun with that game lol.


	5. Chapter 5

As soon as Kylo felt like he could he made his way back to the compound, extra goodies for Finn in tow. He had to take a day to meet up with Dameron to figure out the best type of incriminating evidence to aid Kylo in his mission to get Finn away from Poppy. Of course, Kylo would not be willing to admit to Dameron that that’s what he needed all of the gadgets for. He had him convinced that there was some trouble brewing on the base and he would not be able to finish out the job without one of its members being thrown out. Poe wanted names and descriptions but Kylo refused, simply stating that Poe still had not finished paying him for a job he was in the middle of completing. In the end the two men decided that the best way to get someone kicked out of the Order was to stage a car tracking.

Kylo pulled his truck up to the front of the gate, eyeing the one other truck that he normally was transported in. Kylo wondered if he should try to distract the gatekeepers to try and slip the counterfeit police tracker on the bottom of the car right then, but he figured it would be a better idea for him to scope out the car that Hux uses more often. It would make a better impact if the suspected leader of the militia was targeted, he felt like it would get Finn kicked out as soon as the other items were discovered in his room: A phone programmed with government employees names and fake numbers in it, a small laptop that watches the tracker, a notebook with those same employees names as well as some dubious notes about the militia. As long as Kylo was not caught slipping the tracker onto whatever vehicle he could get it on he was sure this plan would work in his favor.

He planned on waiting until the end of the week when Hux would be taking him off of the base for his “test” to slip the tracker on to whatever vehicle he was going out in. His idea was when they were on their way back he would check the car and “find” the tracker. Kylo would then suggest a sweep of the base which would hopefully involve a check of everyones rooms (including his own),they would discover the planted evidence and kick Finn right out of the gates. Kylo smiled as he walked up to the motel to drop his personal belongings off, his red lamb would soon be his once again.

“Finn told me today that I should dye my hair brown, what do you think?” Poppy asked Kylo before firing one single bullet into the tree. When she was finished she turned and looked at Kylo, smiling sweetly at him and looking for his response to her innocent question. Kylo’s blood was boiling, each night for two nights Finn was almost the only thing she talked about: 

“Finn says he loves the way I look in purple, that’s why I’m wearing this purple hoodie!”

“Finn wants me to start wearing jewelry and makeup, I wonder if I can ask for some for my birthday.”

“This morning Finn said he wants to take me to Canada one day, he says Quebec is the greatest in spring time!”

It made Kylo physically ill whenever she’d open her mouth and Finn’s name would come out. And the fact that he thought she should change a part of her to please himself made Kylo want to take a baseball bat to his skull. Kylo would swear to anyone that Poppy was perfect just the way she was and if she were his he’d never want anything to change.

“Keep your hair the way it is, Poppy. Not very many people have red hair and it’s very unique.” Kylo couldn’t let on about the fact that he knew about her and Finn, not that she was keeping it underwraps very well. She had friendzoned Kylo so much she was talking about her boyfriend to him, it broke Kylo’s heart but he worked through it; Finn would be gone soon before anyone knew it. 

Poppy smiled at him once again, looked at the ground and giggled before raising her arm and firing another shot, hitting the bullseye dead center. Since she had been working with Kylo she had become an expert shot just as he was, Kylo was proud of himself as well as her. 

“I think I’ll have Armitage take me to the hair salon tomorrow and get my hair dyed for my birthday. I feel like it’ll make Finn happy.” At first, Kylo was too busy gritting his teeth at her comment to realize that she had said something about going out tomorrow. He hated that she wanted to do things for  _ him _ . He kept thinking that Finn should be doing things for her since she was such a sweetheart, at least that’s what Kylo would have been doing for sure. But then he meditated on her words: tomorrow was her birthday and Armitage would be taking her out, this must mean that Kylo was going with them as Hux had promised him he’d be taking him out for his trail tomorrow afternoon as well.

Kylo would be taking Poppy out to celebrate her birthday with her, he almost couldn’t ask for a better way to spend his time.

 

The next morning while everyone was eating breakfast Kylo slinked his way to Finn’s designated hotel room, looking around and listening for anyone in the surrounding area. When he was sure he was alone he knocked on the door three times, when nobody answered he brought his his makeshift lock picking tools and let himself into Finn’s room.

It was basic, had the same basic furniture as his room and had the same curtains and sheets. Unlike Kylo Finn had taken up permanent residence in the Order and was not leaving every few days, Finn had clothing packed away as well as lying all over his room. He also had garbage and clutter strewn all over the place and an overflowing trash can. Kylo wrinkled his nose, what a disgusting, messy person.

Ignoring the filth that littered Finn’s room he trudged forward toward the dresser, in his gloved hands he held the phone that was programmed with Government employee numbers which he hid deep in the back drawer wrapped in a red shirt. He shut the dresser drawer and began moving toward the bed, accidentally kicking an empty, crushed coke can on his way over, where he stashed the laptop under some books that he had found nearby. He made sure to stack the book on top of the laptop open to make it look just as messy as Finn obviously was. Last but not least he carefully stepped his way over old napkins and empty candy wrappers to the bathroom where he stashed the notebook in the cabinet on top of some of the pipes way in the back. Finally his work was finished, he gathered up his backpack and walked as quickly as he could out of  there where he could finally breathe through his nose--he didn’t want to know what the room smelled like if Finn was willing to keep it so messy.

  
“I apologize for being late.” Kylo said as he sat down at the table that housed Hux, Poppy, Finn, and a woman with short, blonde hair that Kylo hadn’t met before. Kylo smiled apologetically to everyone and they all didn’t seem to mind his tardiness, except for the new lady who had such an unamused look on her face. “Not a problem, Mr. Ren. So glad you could join us!” Hux said, Poppy giggled and waved as did Finn. Kylo had looked everybody in the eyes as he sat down, except for Finn. They had empty plates down in front of them and it was obvious Kylo had been very late, probably why the new woman was glaring at him but of course Kylo didn’t give a damn.

“So you know my sister, you know your colleague and you know me, I’d like to introduce you to Phasma, my girlfriend.” Kylo looked over to the woman whose face remained unchanged, to try to make a good impression Kylo smiled at her and held his hand out for her to shake. It was nearly silent as she just stared at him, looking pissed off beyond belief at him. “Pleasure.” She bit out as if the word was poison on her lips, Kylo dropped his hand awkwardly. He wasn’t bothered, her looks were far inferior to Poppys and she just looked to be a bitch. He wondered momentarily about how a bitchy looking woman would end up with someone like Hux who seemed so normal and natural, but in the end it didn’t matter. If he had to he would kill her along with Hux.

“Okay, moving on.” Hux said, pulling the center of the conversation from Phasma to Him once again. “Today will be the test for your bodyguard position. I’m going to be taking you and my little sister out to the mall to spoil her for her birthday, all we’ll need you to do is keep an eye on her and keep us safe.” Easy enough, Kylo thought to himself. He was also elated that Finn would not be accompanying them. 

“Of course, General.” Kylo said, nodding his head and cutting his eyes at Phasma, who was still looking testy at him. When she saw him looking at her she rolled her eyes and looked down at her empty plate. “I’ll follow you down there, let me just go clean out my--” Kylo started, thinking he could take the time to go place the tracking device on the truck. But Hux swiftly cut him off with a raise of his hand.

“Nonsense, Ren.” Hux laughed. “We’re going to take my personal vehicle, I’m going to have my men pull it up and we can all pile in.”

“I’ll just go get my bag.” Poppy said as she shot up, Finn stood shortly after her. “Yup, and I’ve promised to go help Alfred in the vineyard today, so I’ll see you guys at dinner.” He turned to Poppy and flashed her a very charming smile, in response Poppy blushed and looked to the ground. “Bye Pops.” 

“Bye.” She whispered to him, looking away shyly. Kylo turned away, feeling a pang of jealousy under his skin. He tried to meditate on the fact that Finn would be occupied for the majority of the day and would likely not enter his room. “I’ll be gathering things from my truck.” Kylo said hotly, then turned and walked stiffly toward the gate.

 

Kylo retrieved his backpack that had his wallet which housed his fake ID and cash, he also grasped the tracker and hid it in his palm. As he did a giant black SUV pulled up behind him. The same man that always drove Kylo to and from the compound was driving it and when he parked he let the car idle. Kylo watched him carefully as he threw the car into park and proceeded to pull out a smartphone and play on it. He wasn’t paying attention to Kylo at all, he felt like if he was quick and stealthy he could plant it on the bottom of the car without him noticing, the gates were closed, no one was outside, and no one was in the towers. It was just him and the driver. 

He took a look at the back of the car, that would probably be the best place to put it. But it would make a significant amount of noise, it would definitely draw the attention of the driver. He shook his head, maybe if he created more noise it would mask the sound and the driver wouldn’t suspect Kylo of anything. 

He walked around to the driver side of the car and, using one knuckle, knocked on the window. The man looked up from his phone at Kylo, then rolled the automatic windows down. “Can I help you, Mr. Ren?” He asked, looking at him confused. “Uh, yeah. Hux is taking us off the base, can I just throw my backpack in the trunk?” Kylo asked, raising his eyebrows nonchalantly. “Yeah, go ahead man. I’ll pop it for ya.” He gave Kylo a small, awkward smile as he hit a button on the dashboard and the trunk popped open. Shortly after the man went back to concentrating all of his attention on his phone, now was Kylo’s chance. 

Kylo was cool as he walked back around the back of the car, staring at nothing in particular as he squeezed the small black box in the palm of his hand. He set his backpack down on the floor of the trunk and pretended to rifle through it, looking for a random book he had packed from his home. He looked up, making sure the driver was not looking at him in the rear view mirror, then knocked his backpack to the ground. 

“Shit.” He exclaimed quietly before squatting down and picking up the contents that had spilled. He began shoveling the spilled items back into his backpack, his wallet, his gun (which Hux knew he kept on him), a package of gum, among other things. He took one last look around, making sure the coast was clear before slipping his hand under the car and securing the fake tracker. Once it was secure he moved his hand around the the car and retrieved his bottle of water, placing it in the back pack and standing up once again. He felt accomplished, ready to take down the man that was taking advantage of his little red lamb.

He moved around to the side of the car and stood stiff as a board, waiting for the rest of his party to arrive. When the gate opened and Hux began walking toward the car, Kylo couldn’t help but let a smile brew on his face. It was as if he himself was working with the cops and soon all of Hux’s evil secrets would be revealed. Of course, the only secret that Kylo needed him to spill was if he was the leader of the Order or not, because if he was then Kylo’s job would be so much easier and faster to complete. 

“I apologize about the wait, Poppy is right behind me she just had to get something from her room.” Hux grinned at him, Kylo nodded his head as a distressing thought settled into the back of his mind, one that he hadn’t cared to think about since Poppy suggested that Hux was the leader. 

If he had to kill Hux, would would that do to Poppy? 

“Ah, it’s such a great day.” Hux said as he leaned on the car next to Kylo. It was nearly noon and the woods were just beginning to heat up, by the time they made it into the city it would be much hotter. “It’s a shame I’ve planned on spending the day at the mall. Poppy loves the bookstore that’s there, then she was talking about getting her hair done at the salon. She’s been begging me for the last few nights and I can’t argue with her on her 17th birthday.” Hux chuckled, Kylo forced a smile onto his face. Kylo knew what she had been talking about but refused to tell on her. It would do neither of them any good, he just hoped Hux would not allow her to dye her beautiful crimson hair away. 

“I can’t help it, though. I always love to spoil my baby sister, especially on her birthday. Our good for absolutely nothing parents treated her terribly.” Kylo took an interested look over at Hux as he fished his carton of cigarettes from his pocket, this would be the first time he’d be hearing about her parents. “Oh?” He asked, offering him a cigarette. Hux wrinkled his nose as he shook his head and held his hand up, Kylo thought it was such a shame because he took Hux as the smoking type. He lit one of his own anyway, this seemed like it would be an interesting story.

“Yes. They were rich assholes who owned a successful diamond importation business and were jewelers on the side. In the city of Houston they were the most popular, most expensive jewelers you could go to, and it made them a fortune.” 

“Well, money is in the diamonds nowadays.” Kylo added, Hux nodded his head as he took a look at the burning cigarette in between Kylo’s fingers. “That it is, and was when I was born. My parents expected me to take on the family business. They groomed me, taught me the basics of diamond excavation at the young age of 8. By the time I was 13 I was working in their main office after school.”

Kylo took another puff as soon as he noticed that Hux was staring at the cigarette in his hand once again. “Child labor, that’s never good.” He said before offering Hux yet another cig. “No no, I’ve been trying to quit.” Kylo nodded, respecting Hux’s wishes. 

“It got even worse. I moved out when I was 16, quit school to sell drugs and lived in the slums with a few friends. It wasn’t great, but I really didn’t want to work for my parents. I wanted to be a lawyer, and I guess dropping out of school and getting into drug sales wouldn’t have helped me to begin with. But I just couldn’t stand my parents constant bickering about how the family business was everything and without it I’d never amount to anything. My parents pulled me back a few times and forced me back into school, but I got away for good when I was 17. I moved to Amarillo where I started to put the pieces of my own life back together, I got a real job since I was legal and I thought my life was was going in the right direction.

“They were so angry at me for not wanting anything to do with them or their business or their home, at some point they told me not to come back. That was, until July. I’ll never forget it, it was July 12th and they called my cell. They woke me up and I thought they were going to beg me to come back, to apologize for everything they had ever done to me. But no, I got such a convoluted, confusing message from my mother.” He bit his lip, looked down to the ground as he kicked a rock away from the two of them. “It was my mother and she  _ was  _ asking me to come back home, but it was because she was pregnant.”

“Hey man, you sure you don’t want a cig?” Kylo asked, obviously this part of the story would be very stressful for him. He looked up at Kylo, then down at the near finished cig in his hand before nodding and holding his hand out. Kylo reached into his pocket and pulled out his carton and retrieved one for him, handed both the lighter and the cig to Hux as Hux continued on with Poppy’s story.

“My mother was 38 at the time and told me she was worried, worried about the business and caring for a child at her age. I’ll always regret it but I told her to fuck off, that I wanted nothing to do with her and dad or their new baby. They had basically disowned me for not wanting to be a jeweler like them, what’s the big deal if they had a new child? That child could take over their business. I thought for sure they didn’t need me.” Hux took a long and deep inhale, Kylo could almost see the stress fall from Hux’s shoulders. 

“So I hung up, didn’t think anything of my parents or new sibling for years till I got another call. ‘Armitage, your new sister really would like to meet you. She’s six now and we’ve been teaching her about her brother.’ Is what they told me. By then I had gotten myself right, I was 23 and had gotten my GED, I was clean of drugs and was living in a decent area. I was working at a cafe and was on my way to the local community college, so I thought why not? I wouldn’t have been a terrible influence on my younger sister.

“I drove across Texas from Amarillo to Rosenberg, it took me three days in my little shitty sedan but I was excited to see my family and my little sister. I imagined a little girl with blonde hair since both of my parents were blonde, no idea how I ended up with red hair, but I thought she’d be dressed in the finest dressed and have her blonde hair tied up in bows, and I thought I’d just be the best big brother ever.” 

Kylo knew something bad was coming when Hux took an even deeper puff of his cigarette and looked back down to the ground, shifting on his feet uncomfortably. “Instead, I walked into an empty home, my mother and father were sitting at the dining room table and demanding I take over the jewelry business once again. Dad was now 56 and the arthritis in his hands was causing him so much grief, the business was falling apart and they were going to have to sell it soon if I didn’t learn the craft. I tried to be cordial by stating I wanted to see my sister first, but they wouldn’t allow me to. I had to tell him yes before they’d let me see her, but my answer was still no. Mom cried and dad yelled, accusing me of ruining their lives.  _ Their  _ lives, my baby sister wasn’t anywhere in the picture.

“I yelled about her, I came all the way down here to see her and they had basically used her as bait to bring me back to the business. I wanted to see my sister, and I was going to at least lay my eyes on her before I left. So I ignored my fathers yelling and trekked up the stairs, thinking they had put her in my old room or one of the other rooms up there. Both of my parents were screaming at me on my way up but I had composed myself, I didn’t want her first impression of her big brother to be yelling and screaming like her own parents. I checked every one of the rooms up stairs and wasn’t able to find her, and my parents hardly let me into the very few rooms downstairs. I grabbed my father by his shirt and demanded he tell me where my sister was, he took me by my neck and said never. My mother was crying and we were still yelling, until I heard what sounded like…like a...”

Hux faltered, finishing his cig and throwing it to the ground and stomping it out. Even Kylo’s heart was hurting because nothing good could come from a situation like this. Kylo looked up through the gate and could see Poppy was finally coming through the crowd, smiling at those who were waving at her. Kylo couldn’t help but smile at her as well, she had on jean shorts and a bright yellow shirt, a bright yellow messenger bag was slung over her shoulder and was sitting on her side. Her red hair hung over her shoulders and chest and, a few inches from her hairline, sat a thick, satin looking bow. She was so beautiful, so lovely, and so bright.

“Ah, it doesn’t matter. It’s not good to dwell on such terrible things on a day that’s cause for celebration, right?” Hux smiled for the first time in ten minutes, looked quickly from Kylo to Poppy who was now walking through the gate and up to the car. “And here she is! The birthday girl, Poptart Hux.”

“Stop it Armitage.” Poppy giggled, Hux stepped out of the way and held his arms open for his sister. Poppy happily accept his hug, resting her head on his shoulder and closing her eyes in a moment of happiness. She was 17, wearing her favorite colors on her birthday, and was getting to get off of the base. No wonder she was so happy, and no wonder she loved her brother for taking her out. “Now, shall we?” Hux asked, holding the door open for Poppy. “Kylo, take shotgun, Poppy and I will sit back here.” As Poppy filed into the car and scooted all the way over to the driver's side, Kylo complied. He was ready to celebrate Poppy’s special day with her, and he wondered if he could get the rest of her story from Hux as well.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is probably the richest back story I've ever created for an OC ever. I feel back for having to cut it short, but chapters can't be super long lol.


	6. Chapter 6

Making it to the mall without anyone finding the tracking device on the bottom of Hux’s car was one of Kylo’s greatest accomplishments. He never really had to plant such dangerous and incriminating evidence before, he was almost certain that if he got caught he would have been the one who was killed on the spot even if he managed to convince everyone that it was fake. Kylo had accomplished the first part of his side mission and now he’d get to enjoy his day at the mall with the Hux family.

It was early Thursday afternoon and there weren’t very many mall patrons. The three walked through the automatic doors, embracing the welcoming air conditioning that blew on them to cool them off. Poppy was between the two men, once the trio had fully entered the mall she began walking ahead, obviously excited to be celebrating her birthday with a field trip she often didn’t take. “Poppy, stay close.” Her brother barked at her, she turned around and flashed a grin at the two, stopping to wait up for them like he asked her to do. “I know you’re excited, Poptart, but you mustn't get too far away from us. I don’t want to have to hold your hand like a child when you’re 17, okay?” Hux scolded his sister and Kylo felt just a bit of annoyance and offense on Poppy's behalf, even though he wanted Poppy to be safe he didn’t feel the need to talk to her as if she were an unruly infant. Kylo swallowed his pride and bit his tongue, today was not the day.

“The bookstore is to the left!” Poppy exclaimed as they came to a fork in the mall walkway. Once again she started to walk up ahead of the group, Kylo couldn’t help but to smile at the way her hair bounced and swayed freely around her shoulder blades. The tips of her hair were fairly uneven, she could do with a trim but definitely not a full haircut or recolor. He didn’t understand why Finn would want her to dye her hair to some mundane, common hair color when her hair was so uniquely red and gorgeous.

“I think I want to buy a book written by Ayn Rand, or maybe George Orwell this time!” Poppy blurted out when the bookstore came into view. “Last time Armitage bought me  Oliver Twist  by Charles Dickens and I read it in like a week! But my all time favorite author is Orwell, I feel like I could read his books every day for the rest of my life.” Kylo was more than impressed at her knowledge of books and their respective authors. Kylo could recall reading some of those titles in high school and in his early twenties, but if you asked him today he probably couldn’t tell you anything significant about them.

Kylo listened intently to Poppy go on and on about the various books she wanted to read, and with each title she spit out, he came to appreciate her more and more. Kylo liked a bookwormish girl, means she’s almost always informed about anything and, hypothetically speaking, she wouldn’t mind living in a place with very little electricity and no such luxuries like TVs, wifi, computers, and phones if she had her books. Kylo had no plans on taking her to live in the cave, though. He could bet money on the fact that, if he asked her to shack up in a cave with him, she’d say no. Not when she had semi-normal living arrangements on the compound. 

They had finally made it to the bookstore and Poppy once again took off of to the Dystopian novel section, Hux had told her to slow down but she was in heaven, Kylo expected her to take off running. She was 17, she could take care of herself for the most part so Kylo wasn’t worried. Kylo kept his distance from the Hux siblings as they toured the shelves of books together, Poppy walked down the aisle while tracing her fingertips over the cover of the books, she was in a trance. Kylo smiled as Poppy finally settled on one book,  We by  Yevgeny Zamyatin . He picked up a book for himself and pretended to leaf through it, keeping a close eye and ear on Poppy to make sure she stayed out of trouble.

“ _ \--god, he’s so hot! _ ”

Kylo’s ears perked up at the loud, unmistakable female voice that came from his left. He cut his eyes, using his peripheral vision he spied a girl with blonde hair peeking around the corner into the aisle. Behind her stood two more girls, dressed in low cut shirts that showed off their midsections and each of them had on different colored booty shorts. 

“ _ So tall...I’d climb him like a tree.” _

_ “Do you think he’s single?” _

_ “--old do you think he is?” _

The girls got their heads together and started giggling, looking at each other excitedly. Kylo looked to the other end of the aisle to see if these underdressed girls were talking about himm, sure enough Hux had gone away and he was the only man in the aisle. He turned toward them, pretending to go through the books to get a better look at the clique: They looked like they couldn’t be a day over 16. In fact, he had seen these girls before. They were looking through some colorful, glittery, silicone cell phone cases at a stand when the trio had first entered the mall. Kylo remembered taking one look at the girl with blonde hair whose butt cheeks were hanging unapologetically out of her shorts and thinking, ‘what parent would let their underage daughter leave the house looking like that?’ 

“ _ Oh my god, Rabecca!”  _ One of the girls exclaimed, from her bright smile he could see that her teeth were decorated with braces. The blonde turned to her to listen, “ _ You have to get his number. Go get his number for me!”  _ Kylo rolled his eyes, this was why he never went out in public. He could control his interactions with people, but he couldn’t control an obnoxious teenage girl’s interactions with him. Maybe it would be best to pull Poppy out of here, go to another aisle and hope these girls didn’t follow him. He looked over to Poppy who was so engrossed in her book, he realized it would upset her to make her leave when he was the one being harassed. So he hulked up, turned toward her and pretended to read again, trying his best to ignore the childishness coming from behind him.

“Who dressed you today?” Kylo looked up, the blonde had apparently snuck around the aisle and to the end where Poppy had planted herself to read through her book. “Um, myself?” Poppy replied awkwardly to her, Kylo knew this was going to get ugly. The girl laughed, looked up at Kylo for a brief second before looking back at Poppy. As the blonde started talking again he began walking over to them to break up whatever this little girl thought she’d say to Poppy, he cursed himself for keeping such a great distance from them. He wondered what the girls behind him were thinking, probably that he was going to go join their friend in the bullying act that was taking place against Poppy. “Aw, was your Amish mama too busy dressing your 15 other siblings?” She laughed and Kylo was struck at the insult, even though Kylo was further away from the pack of girls he could still hear them giggling behind him. “I-I don’t understand.” Poppy stammered in response, she sounded lost and upset.

“You need to put this shit down and pick up a fashion magazine, ginger snap." The girl exclaimed, rudely tapping the book in Poppy's hand. "Yellow definitely crashes with your ketchup hair. Get a sense of style, dipshit!” As she finished she obnoxiously flipped her hair, closing her eyes with a smug look on her face. Kylo had finally caught up with the girls and as he did the blonde looked up at him, the satisfied smile on her face made Kylo sick, he felt like he could pile drive that bitch to the floor for picking on his little red lamb. He had to think on his toes, had to figure out the best way to pull her away from this bully and to keep them away from her for the rest of the day. Swiftly he walked to her side, without making anymore eye contact with the blonde bully he placed his hand around her waist.

“Come, baby. Let’s go have lunch.” He said, turning her stiff body away from the other girl. As he started to walk away with her body pulled tightly to his he decided to be bold and daring, to do something that would probably not be approved of by her brother. For the first time since he had known her, he did what he always had wanted to do: He kissed her.

This time he felt no shame as he looked on at the rest of the bully pack, his lips gingerly resting on her beautiful crimson hair as he made eye contact with the girl that asked for his number. Both of them were looking at him in complete shock and Kylo loved every second of it--he hoped Poppy did too. “Come on, love. Let’s go find your brother.” Kylo whispered to Poppy when they had gotten a few feet away, finally taking a look down at her to assess the situation. His heart broke when he found her bottom lip trembling and her eyes growing glassy with tears, now he really felt like he could put a bullet through that girl’s skin. It absolutely crushed him to know that she had been upset by those girl’s childish ways, what made it even worse was that it was her birthday of all days  _ and  _ she was bullied to tears in her favorite place. He wished he could teach those girls a lesson, but he needed to keep his profile low. Maybe if it were a different job, but definitely not now.

The two met back up with Hux who was sitting on a bench on the other side of the store reading an issue of National Geographic with a photo of the current president on the cover. By now Kylo had let go of Poppy in fear of her brother getting upset at him. When he heard their footsteps he looked up, the smile on his face quickly fading to a concerned frown when he saw the condition of his sister who was looking at the ground avoiding his gaze, holding her book flush to her chest while her arms were nervously crossed over one another. “Poppy?” Hux asked, jumping up to her front and placing his hands on her cheeks. “Poppy, what’s wrong why are you crying?”

“Nothing, Armitage.” Poppy said sadly, shaking his arms off of her. “Nothing, can we just leave?” Her voice was cracking and Kylo’s heart was still hurting, so much so he almost felt like he could cry for her. Bullying had no place anywhere and he would never understand why people would go out of their way to put others down, especially that bitch who picked on an innocent girl to get with a man she wanted. Who would want to be with such a terrible woman?

“Kylo?” Hux asked, looking at him accusingly. He looked disturbed, angry, it was obvious that big brother wanted to know who had harmed his baby sister. “Some little girl, wanted to get my attention but chose to do it by bullying her. I took care of it.” Kylo assured him with a nod of his head, Hux cut his blue eyes back to Poppy. “Can we just go? I, I need to pee.” Poppy turned on her heels, throwing the book down to the floor as she did. Hux looked pissed as he followed close behind her, obviously wanting to protect his baby sister from the vultures that had been picking on her. Kylo opted to bend down and pick up the book she had dropped, it was obviously a book she really wanted before those girls came around. If anything Kylo could present it to her as a birthday gift when they get back to the compound. He just felt so terrible that she had gotten harassed at his expense, maybe he could find another one for her as well. 

As he made his way back to the dystopian novel section when he passed a table filled with books published specifically by Orwell, her favorite author. They apparently had been celebrating the author here at the book store and Kylo couldn’t believe his luck. He picked up a book titled  Coming up for Air , after taking a look at the summary he concluded Poppy would love to read this book, and even if she had read it already he was sure she would appriciate it again. He just wanted to make her feel better, it was her birthday after all.

Silently he walked to the checkout line, hoping he didn’t see those girls later on during the day because he didn’t know if he’d be able to stop himself for at least saying something to them. Someone would have to teach them a lesson if his fake relationship with Poppy didn’t, he already felt terrible for other women and girls who would be subjected to their disgusting behavior. 

The old man behind the counter rang each of his books up then tried to sell Kylo on some magazine subscription that he didn’t want. Kylo had other means of passing the time in his cave and on the compound, he often didn’t read. The man’s grey, itchy looking mustache turned up in a smile as he offered the subscription one more time, this time a little more pushy and forceful. It was obvious that the employees got some sort of reward for selling those subscriptions, but Kylo still couldn’t be bothered. Just as he opened his mouth to say no once again Kylo heard a loud sob come from the back of the store. Both him and the clerk turned toward the noise, Kylo’s heart began racing as he saw the bathroom sign hanging above the bookshelves--that’s where Poppy and Hux had gone. Kylo turned toward the man and snatched the bag of books of the counter, not bothering to bid the man farewell as he was upset he had wasted so much of Kylo’s time.

He hurried toward the back of the store and ducked into the small corner where the male and female restrooms were housed, sure enough he found Poppy and Hux standing together. Poppy had been bawling her eyes out, her once pale face now rosy with her sorrow and tears. She also held her yellow bow in her hands and was pulling softly at her hair as if she had been examining it closely. Hux was trying to calm her down by whispering to her softly, pushing the hair out of her face and trying to be a comfort to her, but evidently it hadn’t been working.

“This is your fault!” Poppy said loudly, Kylo worried about the attention she would be drawing so he stepped back mostly out of their eyesight and tried his best to use his body to cover the two of them from view. “You kept me out of school and away from other kids! None of this would be happening to me if I would have just had a normal childhood!”

“Poppy, you’re not a normal teenager, you’re not like those nasty girls. You’re much smarter than them, your potential is much greater than theirs ever will be. You’re taking college level courses while they are probably struggling to do basic algebra. You should be counting yourself as lucky, Poptart.” 

Poppy moved her bloodshot eyes to Hux then her face contorted into something that could be considered to pain before she shouted at the top of her lungs, causing even Kylo to stumble backward.

“Stop calling me Poptart Armitage! I hate that fucking name and you know I hate it!” Poppy stomped her foot on the ground, Kylo was happy that she hadn’t quite noticed him come around the corner, it probably would have caused an even uglier scene. “You’re so unfair! You won’t stop babying me, won’t leave me alone, you hired a fucking babysitter to watch me, and you won’t even let me dye my hair!” Now Poppy was crying uncontrollably, throwing a temper tantrum like a child would do. Kylo never thought he’d see Poppy in such a state, she had seemed like she was so grown, much more mature than this. Kylo was rather disappointed, although he understood why she was upset to begin with he didn’t think it had to turn into a cry fest for Poppy.

Hux tried to speak to her, to talk her down and to relax her. By now Kylo could see people poking their heads around the book stands trying to get a glimpse of what was going on, why there was a young girl shouting about unfairness and the like. But Poppy was having none of it, she swiftly cut him off with no regard as to what he wanted to tell her. “I’m 17 years old and I don’t even have a boyfriend, I’ve never had one and it’s all your fault!” 

Kylo couldn’t help but to look down and giggle just a bit, from the look of her and Finn he had gotten a few nights ago she did, indeed, have a boyfriend, which was obviously forbidden by Hux. Kylo was happy he hadn’t outed them, Hux probably would have blown up at Poppy even more if he knew about her and Finn. That would all be taken care of later on anyway, he had no worried about Finn.

“It’s for your own good, Poppy. You know the requirements at the compound are--”

“I want out of the damn compound, Armitage! All the rules, all the regulations for what?” Poppy had quieted down just a tad, Kylo watched as the people who had been eavesdropping before fade away, but Kylo had started to think it was time for him to step in. Them shouting about The First Order wouldn’t do anyone any good, their cover would be blown and they might even get themselves arrested. “You have nothing to show for the damn militia! You’ve secluded us away from people and done nothing to stop the gov--” From the stifled noises and swift cut off of Poppy's voice, it sounded as if Hux placed a hand over her mouth and Kylo took it as his cue to step from behind the corner and see what was going on.

Sure enough Hux had Poppy backed to a wall, his hand over her mouth and he was seething as close to her face as possible. Poppy was struggling against him, whimpering into his hand and trying her hardest to pry it off of her. As if his heart wasn’t aching enough for his red lamb, seeing her being manhandled by her own brother made Kylo hurt more. There was nothing he could do, he didn’t want to blow his cover and make it seem like he cared more about her than he should, especially in this heated moment. 

“Well if you’re so fucking miserable why don’t you go live with mom and dad then? I’m sure they’ll let you back in with open arms, don’t you think?” Even the way Hux whispered gave Kylo the chills, the fine hairs on his arms stood in the wake of goosebumps at the image of Hux’s angry face so close to Poppy’s. He looked so evil, so unlike the Hux he had come to know. Kylo couldn’t do anything, that was Armitage’s own sister and she was about to let go of important information for the militia, Hux would have had to do something to stop her.

“Hey, we got company.” Kylo said, looking over his shoulder at the people who had “casually” walked by the bathroom and rubbernecked to get a glimpse of what was going down. When he turned his head back Hux had let go of his sister’s face, she stumbled away from him and the two of them looked at each other. Kylo could see the anguish and humiliation on Poppy’s face, as if she was embarrassed to know that Kylo had heard everything that transpired between them. She let out another sob before turning her back toward them and storming into the bathroom and slamming the door closed behind her, the small metal jingle from the other side of the door ensured the two men would not be able to follow after her, the girl needed her privacy.

“Teenagers.” Hux scoffed, turning toward Kylo. “How much of that did you hear?” He asked, suddenly looking quite amused as Poppy’s sobs could now be heard through the door. “Most, I think.” Kylo admitted, what did it matter? He was there to protect them anyway. Hux nodded, looking to the door where his sister sat wallowing in her own tears and torment, a frown finally setting on his lips. “You know, I hate hearing her cry. I hate that she’s so upset because it’s how I was first introduced to her.” 

Kylo’s eyebrows shot up as he realized Hux never finished his story on how he came to know his little sister. “Do tell, but I’m sorry that I can’t offer you a cigarette here.” Kylo laughed, Hux joined in a moment later. “You still want to know Poppy’s sad story?” Hux asked, entertained by Kylo’s relaxed attitude amongst Poppy’s audible sorrow. “Well, we ain't got anything else to do other than listen to her cry. Might as well.” Hux chuckled, seemingly agreeing with Kylo and shifting on his feet, ready to continue with his story. 

“After I had stopped fighting with my father I heard what sounded like a cry coming from up above me--the attic. I thought there was no way, there was simply no way they were letting my sister play in the attic of their house. It was unfinished, the one time I had ever gone up there I had seen nothing but cobwebs and the boxes of stuff my parents didn’t want in the house, but didn’t want to get rid of either.

"I pushed past mom and dad, they were yelling at me to stop and to leave that girl alone, but I had to see her. I had to see what my sister looked like. The entrance to the attic was in the upstairs lounge, so I barged in there to see everything had been unchanged. I grabbed one of my parent's lounge chairs to stand on and lifted the tile in the ceiling to expose the attic, as I did a fine bit of dust fell into my face. My father tried to top me from going up there by grabbing my legs and trying to pull me down, but I kicked him away, instead hoisting myself onto the wooden floor and lifting myself with all of my upper body strength into the ceiling.”

Hux had stared up at the ceiling of the small nook where they were, obviously still very shaken from recalling the memories. It couldn’t have been good if Poppy was crying when they had met. “The attic smelled of urine, feces, and mold. I’ll never forget it. I probably won’t ever get the smell out of my nostrils, it was so rancid, so acrid, so awful. It made me almost stumble back to the lounge room. There was a small light all the way in the corner, and after the dust had cleared around my head I could clearly see a small child staring up at me.” There was a sad look in Hux’s eye, his pupils were partly dilated and he looked so lifeless, so souless as he recalled the memories of meeting his sister for the first time.

“Now, clearly this was my sister, but I just didn’t believe it. Her face was so dirty, covered in dirt and dust. She had on a white shirt that seemed to be two sizes too small for her and had on no pants or underwear. Her hair had grown down to the floor, it was as if it hadn’t been cut in her entire six years of life and it was  _ brown.  _ That was the next shocking thing other than her abhorrent condition, was my two blonde parents produced a red haired child and a brown haired child.

“From below me my father shouted ‘Poppy! Don’t you dare go near that man!’ and she jumped at his thunderous voice that echoed off the attic wall, so was so afraid of him. I still couldn’t believe the condition she was in. Slowly I made my way over to her, she shied away further into the corner and started to cry. The closer I got the more I realized she was severely underweight and just downright filthy. Behind me my parents were coming up the small ladder that had been placed so they could come up and down with ease, but from the looks of it they hadn’t been up there very often.

“When she cried I cried, I really didn’t think my parents were capable of neglecting their own child like this, they had treated me like royalty until I decided I didn’t want any part of their business, I just couldn’t understand why my sister had to get such a terrible treatment. With tears in my eyes I turned around to my father, shouting at him and asking why he would treat a child like this? What had she done to deserve such a severe punishment? The only thing my father told me was she was useless, and he said it within ear shot of her. She couldn’t read, could hardly write, and apparently she couldn't talk, they had to pull her out of school in order to save face around their other rich friends who had smart kids. I told dad that she was six, she’d be in kindergarten or first grade, or whatever. She had time to lean, but dad wouldn’t listen. What broke my heart even more was when he told me that, and I quote, ‘a woman wouldn’t be fit to take over his business anyway.’”

Kylo saw the rage build in Hux’s face, his mouth now pointed in a harsh frown and his eyebrows formed grotesque wrinkles around his eyes and nose. Even Kylo was angry to hear about Poppy’s mistreatment. In his eyes she was a princess, always had been and likely always will be. But what really enraged  Hux and Kylo both was the thought that his father was sexist. Not only was he abusive and neglectful, but he also felt women were inferior. The 1800s had passed, women had come far and worked hard to earn their rights in society today. Kylo shook his head, then let Hux continue his speech.

“That’s what did it for me. I hadn’t the slightest clue that my father was a sexist pig, and if that was going to be his motto while he raised his daughter in a dirty attic, he and I would never be on good terms. I did what I thought was right: I walked as confidently as I could to Poppy and lifted her in my arms. She weighed almost nothing and she struggled to free herself, yelling out for our mom as loud as she could. My father was screaming at me to drop her, my mother was still standing there uselessly crying. As I dropped through the ceiling and into the lounge room I could hear my dad yelling things about Poppy that would upset anyone. Things like ‘She’s not even house broken, she pisses on the floor like a dog’ and ‘you’ll never be able to raise such a stupid girl.’ Trying his hardest to get me to put her down, I guess. They followed me down and were yelling at me as I ran as fast as I could through the house while carrying her, but I never stopped. I didn’t stop until I got to my car where I set her in the back seat and jumped as fast as I could into the driver’s side. I pulled out of their large driveway and never looked back.”

A proud grin spread on Hux’s face and Kylo knew they had immediately got threw the worst part of Poppy’s history. 

“I drove as fast as I could to the local walmart and parked in the back of the lot where there were no other people and very little light. There was no way I would have taken her in because I was afraid someone would be calling CPS or the Cops on me for having a dirty, pantless little girl with me, so I asked her to lay down, told her I’d be right back and to stay quiet, threw my jacket over her, and closed the door. As fast as I could I grabbed a random pajama set for little girls, underwear, some baby wipes, a few basic TV dinners, and some special shakes for kids to help them gain weight. Just things that I could use to clean her up before we spent so much time checking into a hotel. I felt like I was sweating in the checkout line, worried someone would have seen Poppy in the back of my car and called the cops and I’d be arrested for my parents abuse. 

“They had finally checked me out and I sped walked as quick as I could to my car where I found Poppy had stayed right where she was, but I could hear her terrified crying from outside of the car. I opened the door and lifted the jacket off of her, assuring her that ‘big brother’ was back and would be here to take care of her. She looked at me terrified and my heart broke ten million times over. I sat her back up and drove to another nearby parking lot with street lamps, parked away from everyone then went in the back seat to clean her up.

“The amount of dirt that came off of that poor girls body would have given even Mr. Clean a run for his money. I must have gone through seven or 8 baby wipes before I threw the clothing I bought on her. Each and every one of them were black, black like the deep obsidian of space.” Kylo couldn’t stomach the idea of anyone being that filthy, he lived in a cave for christ sake and was still able to keep himself clean via the cenote in the back of his cave. He had created a type of water filter at the site of the waterfall further down and the water always came down to him clean and warm as a whistle. All he had to do was change the filter every three months and he was good to go.

“She cried the entire time I was cleaning her, even my reassurance wouldn’t calm her down. When I was finished I drove us to a motel I was staying at on my way to my parents. With my sickly baby sister on my hip and the walmart bag in my other hand I asked to rent yet another room. I was sure I looked strange to the hotel clerk holding such a terrified child that I didn't have before, but luckily she had stopped crying by the time we got up to the room.

“The first thing I did was run the bath, when I had stripped her down and dropped her into the bath she drew her limbs close to her body and had the most unsure look on her face, almost like she hadn’t ever taken a bath in her short life. I scrubbed her, had to use lots of pressure to get the caked on dirt out of her skin. She cried the entire time as I had accidentally broken her skin in a few places, she was in such bad shape. I remember the worst part was when I ran her hair under the water, the bath water turned brown almost instantly with the amount of dirt that came out of her hair, and if you couldn’t guess that’s the night I found out her hair wasn’t brown. Once I had finished washing her up she stood in front of me with the most beautiful red hair, it was so pretty when washed that it shined in the light. It was at that point that I decided I hated my parents, how they let her get so dirty that her hair was masked with dirt.”

Kylo shook his head, in the background Poppy sobbed once more. They had been standing here for a while now, he wondered if she was just waiting for the both of them to walk away to come out. “That same night I sat and combed out her hair, it ran all the way to her butt and was full of knots, it was obvious that my parents had failed to take care of her. By the time it dried it was so silky and straight, she had such better hair than I had growing up, I was almost jealous. I combed until she was leaning back on me about to fall asleep, she was so precious. Precious until I noticed her beginning to squirm. I asked her if she needed the restroom, she wouldn’t reply to me but when I sat her on the toilet she began to scream. I later on found out she had a UTI so bad the infection had started to travel to her kidneys. 

“After I finally got her to urinate I had made her one of the TV dinners, I'm pretty sure it had been chicken nuggets, peas, and macaroni. There was no table in the hotel room so I just sat the food on the floor for her. I turned around to get her the shake and when I turned around she had crawled across the floor and was devouring the meal with both of her hands. She was eating so much food so quickly that it would have been clear to anyone that she didn't eat often. The sight was so heartbreaking I had to turn my head and wipe the tears out of my eyes. By the time I turned around she had finished that plate of food and was holding her hand out for the shake, I gave it to her and she downed it all in one swing. She set the cup down and once again held her hand out for more food, that night I had made her three frozen dinners. She had been starving.

"Later that night I set her in the bed for her to sleep, I had sat right behind her and she would only sleep if I she was touching a part of me, her hand, head foot, it didn't matter to her. It was then I realized that, even though I had only known her for a few hours, I made her feel safe. Just as I began to drift off next to her I got a call from my mother. I rolled my eyes, thinking she was going to ask me to bring Poppy back. As quietly as I could I slipped out onto the balcony and answered the call, I didn’t even let her say anything before I demanded she relinquish her parental rights and sign them over to me. I told her I wouldn’t call the cops if she did. In the background I could hear my father screaming at me to just take her to the adoption agency because she was useless and would do nothing but cause a burden for me. Quietly my mother agreed, that we’d meet up sometime soon to do the signing. Then she would be mine, she’d be like my daughter that I had when I was 17. I probably wasn’t the most prepared person, but I felt like it had to be done. It was my sister, I wasn’t going to sit by and let her be neglected like she was.”

Hux had opened his mouth to continue Poppy’s story, but was quickly cut off by his phone ringing. He held his finger up to Kylo and turned away as he answered. 

“Yes, this is Armitage Hux…..oh it is? Great!.....Pink icing? No, I wanted one with yellow icing…..No, I wrote yellow icing on the slip, I’m sure of it…...well I won’t be paying if it has pink icing on it.”

The cake, Hux had ordered a cake online for Poppy’s birthday the night before and it sounded as if the bakery was having problems. 

“No, it’s spelled P-O-P-P-Y, two Ps not just one.” Kylo shook his head, either the bakery was just awful or Hux was very bad at using the internet. “Hold on just one second.” He said before turning back to Kylo and placing his hand over the phone’s receiver. “I’m going to need to take this outside, please keep an eye on her if you could” Kylo nodded his head and watched Hux walk off. Now all he had to do was wait outside for Princess Poppy to make her entrance back into the bookstore.

Another minute or so later and the bathroom door was opening gingerly and Poppy was sticking her head out, peering at Kylo like a sad, lost puppy. “Is he gone? Is my brother gone?” She whispered to him, Kylo nodded at her then she squeezed herself out through the smallest possible crack in the door. “Come on, let’s go somewhere. I don’t want to be near my brother.” Poppy said, confidently taking Kylo’s hand. Kylo followed her through the bookstore and into the mall once again. He wasn’t sure where she was going to take him, but he understood her request to keep away from her brother. He was once 17 as well, teenagers often wanted to stay away from their caretakers for various reasons. He saw no harm in taking her around the mall, he had Hux’s number in case he was looking for them of course. Whatever birthday adventure Poppy wanted to go on Kylo would make sure she would be safe and happy. She deserved it after such a terrible upbringing by her parents. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter was supposed to be much longer, but Poppy's back story is so long! I've still got a little bit more to go then the good stuff will really happen!


	7. Chapter 7

Kylo followed Poppy around the mall, keeping a safe distance so that Poppy could calm herself down. Kylo didn’t know much about teenagers but he did know that they could be moody, just like Poppy when she was arguing with her brother. So he watched her walk, her normally happy expression now tainted with a frown. Kylo was looking ahead, trying not to stare at her in fear of upsetting her even more. That was the last thing he wanted, he just wanted Poppy to be happy and to enjoy her birthday.

As the two rounded a corner Kylo caught himself almost running into her. He took a step back, observed Poppy looking longingly to her right. Kylo looked to see what she had been staring at, his heart sunk when he saw it was a small hair salon. He had no doubt that Poppy was contemplating changing her hair now more than ever since she was away from her brother, an action that Kylo would never approve of and would never let her do while in his company. She sighed, walked up to the entrance of the salon where several women sat getting their hair washed and several others sat under the rounded hair dryers. Most, if not all of those women were occupied with something: either their small square smartphones or a magazine that was supplied by the salon. 

Poppy began walking slowly up to the salon, eyeing one of the posters that was posted up next to the entrance. It was a model with shoulder length brown hair, she had striking blue eyes that had obviously been photoshopped and was dawning sharply cut bangs that hung right over her eyebrows. The text on the photo mirrored that of the store's name and the line of text below it stated: “Trust us, we’re the experts.” Kylo bit back the urge to roll his eyes at the flaky advertisements, there was a reason why he cut his own hair.

“Kylo?” Poppy whispered as he stood idly next to her. He looked down, his heart broke for her as she looked so sad, even more hurt than when she was arguing with her brother. “Do you really think I should dye my hair brown for Finn?” She asked running her hair through her fingers and lifting it into her view. Kylo was stuck, he didn’t want to let on that he cared so much about her and her beautiful hair, or about her relationship with Finn. Even though he wanted her to feel a bit more liberated without her brother around for a while, he wouldn’t allow her to dye her hair. 

“I think your hair is perfect, sweetheart.” Kylo stated, looking away from her and shoving his hands in his pockets awkwardly. “I don’t think you need to dye it for anyone but yourself.” He took a cautionary look down at Poppy who was smiling sweetly up at the poster, her newfound happiness from his words caused a half grin to show on his face as well. “I don’t know that I could dye my hair. I never even thought about it until Finn asked me to.” Kylo shrugged his shoulders, happy to hear that she was faltering on her bullheaded decision to change herself for another man.

“Don’t even entertain the idea of changing yourself for anyone, Poppy. You are perfect the way you are and nobody on this earth deserves the power to change you.” Kylo took in a huge breath, full of courage he turned to her and held his hand out to grab hers. “You tell that boy if he has a problem with your beautiful hair, he can come talk to me.” Now Poppy was giggling as she placed her hand in his, Kylo couldn’t hold his smile back either. She was so angelic and so beautiful, he had almost forgotten about how sullen she had been before they had wandered to the hair salon.

“You must have sisters.” Poppy said, letting go of Kylo’s hand, leaving his palm feeling cold and lonely. He shook his head, explained to Poppy that he was an only child for all of his life. He never knew what it was like to care for a sibling, or be annoyed by one, or anything in between. Once again Poppy smiled as she looked away and began walking away from the salon. “I don’t believe you. You’re so nice!” Once again Kylo shrugged, didn’t know what to say in response to Poppy’s disbelief. “Well, if it makes you feel any better, you’re like a big brother to me.” 

Kylo’s heart immediately came to a standstill, if he weren’t in public he’d probably stop and reflect on what she actually said to him. “You know how to talk to me, you’re nice, and I can’t imagine you’d yell at your sister to stop her from buying makeup or keep her out of school.” Poppy said enthusiastically as she sped her gait up just a beat. Even though Kylo didn’t get out very often, didn’t have a whole lot of relationships in his life, he knew about what had just happened to him. Poppy had swiftly put him in the “Friend zone,” or more specifically, the “Brother Zone.” Essentially her way of saying she’d never love him the way he wanted her to. 

The only thing Kylo could do was smile sadly at her, obviously he couldn’t say anything about how she had hurt him, lest he look like such a weirdo crushing on a girl who is 17 years old. The only thing that was keeping Kylo’s ego afloat was his ability to compromise with himself: If he had to choose between Poppy ignoring him or hating him and her loving him as she would another brother, he’d take being her hypothetical brother any day.

“Come on, Kylo, let’s go get a smoothie! I think they’ll give me a free one if I show them my ID!” With that Kylo pushed the insult to the back of his mind, reminding himself that he would likely never have Poppy to himself the way he wanted to have her anyway, that this was the best he would get and he'd have to live with it.

 

About an hour later, Kylo sat sipping on a strawberry kiwi smoothie while he watched Poppy explore a small camera shop she had wanted to go in. He had never seen such a store, they specialized in repairing any camera from the old Polaroids to the new age DSLRs. They also sold various types of cameras, lenses, accessories, and even film for the older cameras. He wasn't sure why Poppy was so drawn to the store, but then again Photography is a very popular hobby. 

She took a sip of her Strawberry Shortcake flavored smoothie and pointed to a rack of colorful cameras that were stocked high on a shelf. “Kylo! Are, are those one of those old cameras that print their pictures instantly?” Kylo looked up to where she was pointing and, sure enough, that’s what they appeared to be. They were white boxes that featured colorful cameras with a picture being printed out of the top. They were called “Instax” cameras made by Fujifilm, Kylo hadn’t thought that they were still making instant film cameras either but as it turned out they did, and they came in incredibly colorful and cute forms.

Poppy was reaching up as high as she could, but she had fallen about five inches short. Being 6’3 and a half inches, Kylo reached up and pointed to the green camera, waited for Poppy to shake her head and grabbed it for her. “Woah, this is pretty cool.” She said, looking over the box. “It comes out of the top, this is neat!” Kylo wasn’t too impressed, he wasn’t a big photo taker. Kylo could tell she wanted the camera and she wanted it so badly, he took a glance at the price tag and saw it was surprisingly cheap, only $70. He contemplated buying it for her, he had already spent $12 on the smoothies but he didn’t think $70 would be that bad for a proper birthday gift. 

Poppy looked up at him with the camera in her hands, for a split second Kylo felt like she was going to beg him to buy the camera for her. He reached into his back pocket for his wallet but was swiftly cut off by her precious voice. “Can you call my brother and ask him to come buy this for me?” Kylo looked at her, from the unsure look on her face he could tell that she was conflicted about bringing her brother into the equation. He shook his head, reached for it once again. “I’ll buy it for you, baby.” Kylo said as he took the camera from her hands, turning away from Poppy to grab a box of film for her as well. “Really? Kylo you don’t have to--”

“Relax.” He said, holding his free hand up to her. “It’s your birthday, I want to spoil you.” Kylo smiled at her as he made his way to the checkout counter, Poppy trailing close behind him, beaming with elation. “Thank you, thank you, thank you Kylo!” She nearly shouted as Kylo checked out, paying his near hundred dollar total in cash. When the cashier handed him the bag he immediately handed it over to Poppy who squealed loudly in excitement. Smiling proudly, he turned away from the cashier and was met with an over excited Poppy, hugging him tight and resting her head on his chest. 

Kylo wasn’t sure what to think at first, she had moved so quickly Kylo didn’t have time to completely register the movement right away. He had seen her lunge forward in his direction and before he knew it her arms were wrapped around him, her forehead resting on his sternum and her smile seemingly burning a hole in his chest. It took him a second to be able to wrap his arms around her and enjoy this moment of mutual appreciation. He held her tight, his long arms reaching almost to her sides; He wanted to take in as much of this moment as he could, to remember it for what it was.

It seemed like it all ended too quickly, she had unlatched herself from him and he sadly let her go, admiring her look of reverence for as long as he could until she turned away from him, taking his hand in hers and rushing off further into the mall.

 

“Hold still, Poppy.” Kylo said as he fiddled with the green, square shaped camera. “I want to make sure I installed your film correctly.” Kylo had told her he’d set the camera up as she finished up her smoothie in the cafeteria of the mall, and he found it was incredibly simple. There was a button next to the lense that caused it to extend and that’s how the camera was turned on. Kylo installed the box of film and let the film run its course. A black piece of paper printed at the top of the camera that was labeled “test sheet,” then according to the instructions, the camera was good to go. 

Kylo adjusted the light setting and aimed at Poppy who sat across from him, she smiled brightly at him as she clutched her smoothie in both of her hands. “3, 2, 1, smile!” Kylo hit the shutter button and instantly the flash went off, followed by the very first photo printing at the top of the camera. Gently Kylo pulled it off of the printer, it was completely white to begin with. “Cover it, it’ll develop faster and better if you do.” Poppy cut in as she took a sip of her drink, Kylo covered the photo with his hand and looked and Poppy skeptically, asked her how she knew that interesting tidbit of information. She smiled, the straw still in her mouth. “Because of a science class I took a few years ago. Look at it, I want to see!” Poppy stared at his hand impatiently and he chuckled at her, although he wouldn’t admit it out loud he was excited to see it too.

He lifted his hand just in time to see the bold redness of her hair fading into the photo. “There we go.” Kylo said as he admired the photo, it was small and rectangular rather than being square. It was different, but nevertheless he was still stunned by the cameras ability to capture her beauty in such a small photo. He lifted it up and let her see it, to which she smiled almost as brightly at it as she did when he took her photo. “Ew, throw it away.” She giggled at him, closing her eyes for just a second. 

Kylo was appalled, why would she say such a thing? Kylo began to grimace as the first thing that flew into his mind was Finn, Finn was probably filling her mind with ways to change herself for him that she had become self-conscious, thinking she was imperfect when she clearly was admired by many for who she was. “Why would I do that?” Kylo asked, trying to keep his emotions under control. “Because I’m ugly.” Poppy moaned as she reached to the camera, looking through the viewfinder as if she was going to take a picture of Kylo. Kylo wanted to freely argue with her over her own perception of herself but he knew it likely wouldn’t end the way he wanted. He let go, pushing most of the blame onto Finn and the rest on Poppy’s teenage personality--sometimes teenagers are hard on themselves, and Poppy likely was still feeling bad after those girls bullied her. 

Poppy snapped a photo what appeared to be Kylo and he frowned, scolding Poppy for not waiting for him to smile. The photo printed and much to Kylo’s surprise he could only see his shoulder as it developed before his very eyes. “Everything alright here?” Hux’s voice sounded behind him, Kylo turned to see Hux walking happily up to the two of them with a proud grin on his face. “Hey brother.” Poppy said, taking the picture from the top of the camera and handing it to him. Hux glared at the photo, looking it at like he couldn’t recognize himself in the background. 

“Where did you get this?” Hux asked, taking a look down at the camera in Poppy’s hands. “Kylo bought it for me!” Poppy said cheerfully, both of them turned to look at Kylo happily. “It was a birthday gift!” She went onto explain, Hux nodded his head approvingly. “How thoughtful, Mr. Ren. Thank you for that, in case my sister didn’t tell you.” Kylo nodded and smiled awkwardly as Poppy spoke up, telling Hux that she did thank Kylo with a not so subtle attitude in her speech. He realized that there very well may be another fight right over the horizon and he wanted nothing to do with it.

Hux had completely ignored Poppy, not even bothering to look over at her before sharing the news with Kylo that he had the cake all sorted out and was ready to go pick it up and head back to the compound. Kylo took a look at Poppy as she listened closely to the conversation, thought it was unfair that it was Poppy’s birthday trip to the mall and Hux was deciding to end it for her. But who was Kylo to intervene? Truthfully Kylo was itching to get back to the compound as well, the quicker they got back the quicker Finn would be banished from the Order. Kylo couldn’t wait to have his Red Lamb to himself--with no boyfriends to worry about. 

“Very well.” Kylo said, looking back at Poppy and standing up from the table. He held his hand out for Poppy as a way to reassure her, to subtly let her know that he was on “her side.” Poppy didn’t seem to object, simply took Kylo’s hand and stood from the table, her green camera held tightly in her free hand. He squeezed her hand, one part to calm her down and one part because he simply wanted to. It was something he liked to do with all of his past lovers, it was such a faint and indirect show of love that nobody would take it out of context, especially when he dropped her hand in favor of simply following Hux to the car. Even if Poppy recognized his love as “brotherly,” it was important to him that she knew he cared for her even when she was upset at her brother.

“Poppy, we’ve got cake and some good food for you at home. Phasma’s gotten a gift for you as well.” Poppy didn’t say anything, completely ignored her brother’s well intentioned words in favor of looking up at Kylo. They stared at each other for just a moment, then Poppy smiled slyly at him. A smile that could mean nothing but acceptance, Kylo felt like he had made Poppy’s birthday outing worthwhile. It was clear that he had treated her with more dignity than her brother did, nobody likes being treated like a child, even when you’re technically a child at 17. Kylo looked after Poppy just the way she wanted someone to, he didn’t baby her like a helicopter parent would over an infant. 

Kylo realized that there were bad things in the world, and he knew that, over time, it would be good for Poppy to be exposed to all of it.

 

This was it. The trio were making their way through the automatic doors, into the parking lot and up to the car that had been pulled up to the curb for them to enter. Poppy was first to open the passenger side back door and climb in and Kylo’s heart was racing. This was going to be one of the most important acts in his hitman career, he had to be precise, accurate, and he had to make these people believe that they were in danger. 

As Hux began walking to the other side of the car Kylo held a hand up to his chest. “Let me check your car.” Kylo said as calm as he could. He walked up to the door of the car and bent down and stuck his hand on the underside of the van. As slowly and cooly as he could he walked around the car, feeling nervous as he walked closer and closer to the trunk knowing he’d find the fake car tracker. He realized once he rounded the last corner that his fingerprints would be on it because he placed it with his bare hands, he had to make a show of pulling it off and handling it just in case the Order ran fingerprints on it. 

Finally his fingertips brushed the smooth, square box. The only thing he could hear was his pounding heartbeat in his ears. He stopped for a second before wiggling his arm slightly. He kept his cool, there was no real reason to be afraid of the fake piece of plastic that was stuck to Hux’s van, but he would be afraid of the consequences to himself if he messed this big plan up. 

The tracker came off of his car with a loud crack and he stood still, took a look at the tracker in his hand out of the corner of his eye. This was perfect, everything was going smoothly so far. He stood, looking straight forward as he made his way to Hux, feeling the sweat as it began forming on his hairline and in his palms. He tapped Hux on the shoulder, motioned with his head for him to look at the device in his hand. “What is-”

“Shh.” Kylo held up his free hand to stop speaking, he had dealt with real car trackers in the past and knew how to handle them, he followed his protocol exactly as he normally would. “Oh my word!” Hux said, jumping back slightly and taking a worried look to the car. “Poppy Hux, exit the vehicle!” He nearly shouted, bringing Poppy’s attention immediately to him. Kylo placed his hand on Hux’s chest and once again told him to be quiet, if this were a real tracking situation Hux would have already drawn so much attention to him and his vehicle.

“The car should be safe since we’ve gotten the tracker off of it.” Kylo warned, to bring another car would only worsen a true car tracking situation, it would only give the police another car to track. However, since the goal was to get Hux home quickly for him to take action against Finn, Kylo advised Hux to simply get in the car and carry on with business as usual. Obviously the tracker was placed at the compound and they’d likely find the culprit there. The two men spoke in hushed tones while Poppy poked her head out of the side of the van, Hux’s driver did as well but Kylo carefully explained to Hux that it was best no one knew of their findings. “It might give the culprit time to make a run for it. The best thing to do is a full search of the base, your room and my room included.” Kylo warned and he felt so much relief when Hux nodded his head. “You don’t know what we might find, someone might be attempting to bring harm to us.” Hux’s face was full of business and no nonsense. Kylo understood, this was his family and his life that he thought was in danger. But clearly, the only person that was in danger was Finn.

 

The ride home was silent, even with Poppy and the driver asking what the problem was earlier that day. Kylo repressed his smile, his plan was going flawlessly, just as he wanted it to. “Brother?” Poppy asked, Kylo guessed even she was nervous with her brother’s unwillingness to explain what was going on to her. When they were leaving the mall he could tell she was still angry at him, but now it was like she was obsessed with him and with knowing what was wrong with him. Kylo could see how stressed out Hux was in the rearview mirror, he was rubbing his hands together, looking at the floor with a scowl, and Kylo could have sworn he had seen a shiny layer of sweat on Hux’s forehead. Kylo had felt pretty terrible for the poor man, he of course didn’t know that the fake tracker posed no danger to him or anyone in the Order, but it wasn’t as if Kylo could come right out and tell that to him so he sat silently, observing the man and waiting for the moment when they’d arrive on the compound.

It felt like it couldn't come soon enough, but Kylo soon found himself jumping out of the car alongside Hux. He was quiet, watching all of it unfold before his very eyes. Hux going up to the armed guards at the gate and ordering a surprise sweep of the base, Poppy frantically tapping him on the shoulder and asking him what was going on. Following his own advice to Hux he kept his mouth shut, not letting on to Poppy as to why people were suddenly being led out into their homes by the armed guards and into the pavilion one by one. He took his place next to Hux who was watching the chaos taking place as well. Up in the windows he watched the guards going through rooms, over turning beds and going through closets, he was happy to see them rummaging through his room; he was 100 percent certain they would not find anything on him in there as he brought none of his personal belongings. He repressed his smile, Finn’s room was right next to his. Finn was next, his fate was sealed.

Once everyone had been vacated from the motel the guards came out, their hands full of the evidence Kylo had planted in Finn’s room. One of them walked right up to Hux, Poppy’s eyes were glued to the stuff in his hands. “Kylo, what is that?” She said, the panic in her voice loud and clear. He took a step toward the guards to get a closer look, acting like he hadn’t seen them before in his life. “Kylo!” Poppy said, he took one look behind himself and saw her shaking, clutching her new camera in both of her hands. 

“Whose room did these come out of?” Hux said, much more put together than his sister was. The guards whispered something into Hux's ear while the crowd looked on. Nobody was acknowledging Poppy who looked as if she was going to cry, Kylo took the time to turn toward her and comfort her. “Relax.” Kylo said, once again taking Poppy’s hand in his and squeezing it, Poppy didn’t seem to take his advice. “I’m scared, what are those things?” 

“It doesn’t matter, Poppy. It only matters who they belong to.” Kylo said just as the guards stepped away from Hux. His face turned red and the nastiest sneer slow spread over his mouth, he was livid and even Kylo was a bit unsure about his placement next to him.The next words out of his mouth brought Kylo such joy, the way he shouted Finn’s name into the crowd was like a dream come true. 

Kylo watched as the people looked around momentarily before a few of them toward the back of the crowd began to separate, creating a massive amount of space around one person: Finn. Hux stepped to the front of the stage, calling out to Finn once again and demanding he make his way to the podium. Everybody had their eyes glued to Finn, most in horror others in curiosity as he slowly made his way through the crowd of people who politely parted for him. He looked nervous, wide eyed as he stared back at everyone, likely wondering why he was being called out by a very angry Hux. 

“Hux, what’s wrong? Why are you--” Finn began to ask as he stepped up the five steps to get to Hux

“Explain to all of us why these items were found in your bedroom.” Hux said, his face hard as stone all while trying to compose himself. Behind him the guards stepped forward and threw the planted evidence at his feet. Finn looked down, then chuckled nervously as his eyes roamed over the laptop and the cell phone, Kylo noted that they had missed the notebook he had hidden under Finn’s sink. He had hidden them well, seemed very believable as they were now about to bring the hammer down onto him.

“Is, is this a joke?” Finn said, looking up at Hux as if they were still friends after the days events. “What is this, some kind of initiation? Hux, man come on--” Finn said as he nervously tried to punch Hux in the arm, a gesture normally done between two people who were in good standing with each other. But from the way Hux brutally threw Finn’s fist away from him, so much so Finn almost tumbled off of the stage and into the crowd of people who were judging him as well, it was obvious that Hux was not going to pretend to be Finn’s buddy.

Kylo watched in horror as Hux took one giant step toward Finn, grasping him by his throat and pulling him closer to himself. Poppy squealed and took a step toward the commotion, holding her arm out toward her lover with a heavy look of concern on her face. Once again feeling the pangs of jealousy, Kylo grasped her by the shoulder and pulled her back toward him, he wished he could just come out and tell her that Finn would soon be gone if she didn’t understand by the rather public humiliation he was receiving. Kylo wanted Poppy to grow up to be his, and she wouldn’t do that with Finn in his way.

“This evidence was discovered in various parts of your room, a phone that has not been inspected by our guards as well as a laptop that has been used to track a car tracker that has been placed on our car!” Hux shouted, Finn was flinching with every word that was hurled at him. “What evidence? This isn’t my stuff!” Finn stammered as he once again looked over the items at his feet. “I, I didn’t know someone put a tracker on your car! I didn’t do it, Hux you have to believe me!” Finn begged, the panic now rising in his voice as he took a look at Kylo, begging him for help. Kylo looked away, his grip on Poppy tightening around her arm to prove a point to himself, Finn, and Poppy.

“Silence, vermin!” Hux said as he dropped his hand from his throat. “It is clear you are guilty of treason, have betrayed the trust of the First Order.” Hux said, murmurs from the crowd rang out from behind him. “No, Hux you’ve got it wrong! I’m not, I’m not a cop!I swear I’m not--”

Suddenly all of the armed guards pointed their guns at Finn, the action was so quick and so surprising that Kylo jumped back in succession with Poppy. In fact, Poppy jumped into his arms. She reached out to Finn, finally beginning to shake and make her voice heard in this matter. “Noooo!” Poppy shouted, as she did Finn cut his eyes at her and threw his hands in the air. Kylo wrapped his arms around Poppy in yet another hug, this one clearly more sinister than the last one she had graced him with. He wasn’t sure about her history with death, but with the prospect of Finn being publicly executed Kylo wanted to be there for her in case she didn’t handle it well. 

Not only did Poppy gain Finn’s attention, but also her brothers. It was as if Hux just remembered his 17 year old sister was on stage, watching him accuse someone whom he knew she befriended of treason. Hux looked from Poppy who was now pushing against Kylo’s arms, to Kylo who was looking back at him awaiting orders. 

Hux turned proudly to his guards, placing his arms neatly behind his back and letting his anger fall off of his shoulders. “But what kind of American militia would we be if we didn’t give Mr. Finn his due process?” A devious smile spread across Hux’ face as he commanded the guards to take Finn to lock up, a portion of the base that Kylo had known nothing about. “There will be a meeting held between the leaders of the Order, a decision will be made tonight in regards to this man’s Fate.” He announced before dismissing everyone from the crowd. Kylo heard Poppy whisper Finn’s name sadly one last time, he couldn’t help but to feel sorry for her. He could imagine it was a feeling similar to what he felt when he caught Finn kissing her, and she was justified in feeling that way.

Hux began making his way over to their portion of the stage, as he did Kylo released his hold on Poppy. In turn, Poppy began walking off in the opposite direction of her brother, clearly pushed over the edge with his decisions in her personal life for the day. “Poppy!” Hux shouted, she stopped in her tracks. When she turned around she did nothing to hide the hurt from her face. Her reddened eyes, her sad frown, it broke Kylo’s heart. Hux clearly had more important thing to be worrying about than his moody teenage sister, which was understandable.

“Take my sister to our home, let her show you where it is and keep her safe.” Hux whispered in his ear. Kylo did nothing but nod his head, understanding that Hux was likely worried about other trespassers and just wanted to keep his precious sister safe. The two men turned to go their separate ways. He turned toward Poppy who was still standing at the end of the stage, Kylo’s pity toward her grew when he walked close to her and she held out her hand. Of course, he accepted it, happy to be a comfort to his red lamb. Much to Kylo’s surprise, not only did Poppy grasp his hand, but she also wrapped hers around his arm, set her head down on his shoulder as best as she could with their height difference. 

Kylo felt his heart melt as Poppy hugged his arm close, this was finally how he wanted her to feel about him. He wanted her to be comfortable enough with him that she felt like she could give him this much physical affection. 

“Take me-”

“I heard.” Poppy cut him off just as she started to lead him toward her home. She sounded so defeated, so sad, so broken as she saw her friend being handled to horribly. Once again, Kylo felt for her. Especially when he realized that she had no one else to go to but to him. There was no Finn and her brother was currently on her bad side. Her one friend was nowhere to be found, Kylo was the only person she had.

It was perfect. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> One more chapter takes place in the militia, then we move onto a different setting! I can't wait.


	8. Chapter 8

Kylo had followed Poppy off of the stage, around back toward the animal fields, and about twenty feet forward before she stopped abruptly in front of him. Her brows were furrowed and her nose was wrinkled up in an angry look similar to how her brother had looked a lot of the times Kylo had seen him. “Everything okay?” He asked, a little worried as to why she was looking at him so upset. Did she know his secret, that he was the one who had framed her little boyfriend who had now been taken to lock up? It was an area of the base that, according to Hux, was never used very often. It held six cells, three on each side and two guards that were only there when prisoners were being kept there.

“I need you to take me to Finn.” She said to him, Kylo almost couldn’t help but to chuckle at her. “What, what do you mean?” He stammered, but in reality he should have seen this coming. Young love, she believed she loved that man and he loved her. Of course there would be a kind of Romeo and Juliet theme going on between them, Kylo should have known this was coming. “I need to see him, Kylo. I need to talk to him, to ask him if he really did what my brother accused him of.” She pouted, begging him to take her to the one person everyone deemed a traitor. “No can do, Poppy. Your brother doesn’t want anyone to be down there with him except for the guards.” Kylo warned, looking down the path to where she had been leading him, he wanted to get her home safe and not have to think about Finn again.

“Why not?” She said, causing Kylo to begin to stress over the situation. “Because Poppy,” He said as he placed his arm on her shoulder to point her in the direction he had been taking her to her home. “Your brother trusts me to keep you safe, and even if Finn is not guilty he still believes he’s a threat. If I take you down there and he finds out somehow I’m the one that’s going to get the ax. Not you,  _ me, _ because in his eyes that wouldn’t be protecting his little sister.”

Poppy rolled her eyes, crossed her arms defiantly as she looked to the ground. This was the first disagreement the two of them had and it was clear that she was very stubborn. “You can tell him it was my idea Kylo, cause it is! Just tell him I wanted to see him!” She said, Kylo felt the pity for her rise in his chest again as he looked at her reddening face and glassy eyes. “Poppy, my dear I know that you’re upset.” Kylo said, taking her hand in his and rubbing her knuckles. “But you must understand that--”

“I don’t need to understand anything!” Poppy abruptly and angrily cut him off, ripping his hand from hers in an act of rage and turning away from him. “I don’t care about my god damn brother!” She shouted, Kylo was thankful that everyone was still congregated down the pathway at the pavilion so they couldn’t have heard her going on about how unfair her brother is. “I’m going down to the cells to see Finn, if you wanna follow me there and protect me from nothing then go ahead! Otherwise go get my brother and he can drag me away.” She shouted, stomping off in a completely different direction than where she had been taking him. The further she got away from him the harder she cried and the easier he could hear her. It wasn’t until her sounds of sorrow faded that he decided she needed him. Even though it seemed like such a minuscule problem in Kylo’s eyes it was a mountain in hers. Once the guards caught her going down into the jail cells Hux would immediately be alerted, and then what would that do to her image as well? Fraternizing with a suspected traitor like she had helped him plan his assault on the base. He had to be there to at least keep the heat off of her, it was the very least he could do.

He caught up with her and shouted at her, asked her to slow down and she did, casting a heartbroken look at him over her shoulder. Her eyes followed him as he walked up to her, it was clear she was awaiting an explanation as to why he had changed his mind. “They’re not going to just let you walk down into the prison, Poppy.” She stared at him, still looking unsure of his motives. “I’m going to help you get down there, but that’s it.” A satisfied smile broke over her face as she ran into his arms once again, whispering one quiet thank you into his chest. Kylo’s heart thumped loudly in his chest, he knew he was making her happy, but he didn’t know if he was doing the right thing.

 

Kylo nodded to the guards as they descended the stairs under the main building on the compound. He was hoping they wouldn’t stop him at all, after spending so much time on the base most people knew him, they knew he was a bodyguard and they knew he was in good standing. He even recognized the two men standing guard over all the cells, but unfortunately they still stopped them. 

“State your business.” The man on the left said, Kylo had to catch Poppy by her upper arm to stop her from barreling past them. “She’s angry, she wants to confront the new prisoner. Finn.” The guard looked skeptical, looking from Kylo to Poppy who still had a wild look of determination on her face. “Hux doesn’t want anyone interacting with the traitor at the moment.” He growled at the pair, Kylo grew annoyed. He hated it when people would not comply with him, even though he knew he had to downplay the power he held over them. “It’s already been approved. Come on man, all she wants to do is talk to him. Right Poppy?” Kylo asked Poppy, putting the thought into her mind that she was only to  _ talk  _ to Finn, absolutely nothing else. “Right.” She said, looking at the door that kept the six cells. 

The guard groaned, rolled his eyes as he stepped aside and opened the door for them. “Five minutes, that’s all I’ll grant you.” 

“Five minutes is all we need, thanks.” Kylo said, but Poppy was already speed walking down the hall. “Cell 3A, all the way at the end.” He shouted, but Kylo had already walked through the door. He turned around to thank the man but he had already closed the door and Poppy had already been reunited with her boyfriend. “Finn!” She shrieked, Kylo cringed at the sound of her voice, happy to see the man that was standing in his way. 

“Poppy, please don’t be angry at me. I can explain.” Finn said, Poppy had thrown herself against the bars and began to sob. “How could you? How could you try to hurt me?” Kylo turned away to the other empty cells, unable to hide his smile. This plan was going so much better than he thought, even Poppy thought Finn was out to get her! This would only push her closer to him and further from Finn, it’s exactly what he wanted.

“Pops, it wasn’t me. I promise it wasn’t me! All of that stuff isn’t mind. I would never try to bring harm to you or your brother, you have to trust me!” Finn begged, Kylo watched as his arm came from beside the bars, wrapping it around Poppy in a comforting gesture as she sobbed openly. “Why should I believe you Finn? Don’t you know Ben Solo has his sights on our base? For all I know you could be working with him to kill all of us!” Fear rose in Kylo’s chest and throat at the mention of his real name, he had forgotten all about how Poppy read somewhere online that he’d be executing a hit on the base. She was afraid of Finn, might even believe he of all people was Ben Solo.

The only thing that told Kylo was that his ability to hide his real identity was working almost a little too well.

“Poppy, I’m not Ben Solo! Why would you even think such a thing?” 

“The evidence points to you, Finn! What else am I supposed to think?” Poppy continued to cry as Finn tried to reassure her, Kylo still thought the entire thing was pathetic. Poppy was a 17 year old girl, she shouldn’t be cuddling up with a prisoner like this. “Poppy, if I were Ben Solo then I would have made the stupid mistake of falling in love with their leader’s younger sister.” Finn said confidently, it seemed like everything in Kylo’s world had come to a heart stopping halt. Finn could not be in love with Poppy, Finn was just using her, he was no good for her at all. He was taking advantage of her, of her young age and her bright personality. Kylo could tell from the moment he had first laid eyes on them kissing out by the shooting range. 

But probably, what Kylo should have been stressing out over the most was what Finn had said about the leader. It was true, what Poppy had said was true. Her older brother, Armitage Hux was the leader of the First Order militia and Kylo had to kill him. He began sweating, fidgeting with the hem of his shirt as he frantically tried to work out in his mind what he’d do. Poppy loved her brother, and her brother loved Poppy, how was he going to execute the job he was paid to do without thoroughly breaking Poppy at the same time. For the first time since Kylo had taken on the job, he was afraid, didn’t know if he could complete the mission he had been paid to do.

“Just this morning I had taken an oath to protect you, to guard you with my life. Your brother, he wanted to start allowing you to take classes at Sul Ross U, it’s right in the city maybe about half an hour or so away. It was a birthday gift, and I was meant to make sure you were safe.” Poppy stepped away from the bars as she wiped her eyes clean of tears, Kylo had no idea that Hux had planned on letting Poppy go off base, but it offended him that Hux would entrust Poppy with Finn instead of him. What advantage did Finn have over him? He was smaller, slower, and he could almost guarantee not nearly as skilled as Kylo was when it came to defense. However, it wasn’t as if Kylo could ask, clearly he was not supposed to know about this birthday gift of hers.

“Did, did my brother really want you to do that? For me?” Poppy asked, finally looking up at Finn once again. He reached his arms between the bars again, reaching for Poppy’s face and wiping her tears away. He lifted her face to his, placing his hand under her chin and Kylo immediately felt ill, he was meant to be touching her like that when she became of age, not him. 

“He did, he knew you were becoming quite sick of taking classes online and living on the base, he wanted you to be happy and he wanted you to have your freedom. He chose me to keep you safe.” Poppy lifted her hands to Finn’s arms, caressing his skin and finally looking as if she believed him. “Listen, Pops. I love you, if that isn’t clear enough as it is, then I’ll say it one more time. I would never hurt you, and I know how I can prove it to you. You just have to help me get out of here.” 

Kylo’s ears perked up as Finn spoke those words, but when he turned to get a better understanding of what was being said, Poppy had her ears pressed up against the bars and Finn was whispering in her ear. This conversation was officially over, he did not bring Poppy down here to help him break him out. 

“Poppy, time’s up.” Kylo said bitterly, taking a step toward her. They both turned their heads toward Kylo, he could hear Finn whispering to Poppy, telling her to go on. “I’ll, see you. Tonight.” She said, the only thing Kylo could do to resist the urge to drag her out of there by her collar was to dig his fingernails into his palm. This was a mistake, he should have just taken her home like he was instructed. 

 

Kylo had finally gotten her outside and back on the route to her home when Poppy once again threw a wrench in his plans. “I need you to take me to my brother.” She said, looking up at him with an obvious mission to complete. Kylo giggled, pushing her perseverance off to the side. “No, Poppy. I had strict instructions to take you to your home. Your brother will already have my head if he finds out I took you to the jail, so please. Cut me some slack and follow his orders, alright?” Kylo said as calmly as he could, in reality his soul was on fire. Poppy wanted to run away with the man he was trying to rid himself of, she loved him, he loved her, and it was 100 percent clear that Poppy would never love him. Kylo was agitated, by now he just wanted to keep to himself. 

“Kylo please! I need to get the keys to the cells, Finn is innocent, I know he is!”

“Poppy, it’s not your place to determine if he is innocent or not. Like you said, for all he knew he could have been planning on killing you.” Kylo said, now beginning to lose control of his temper. “He could  _ still  _ be planning on killing you. He could be luring you away from the base so that he can murder you without anyone knowing!” Kylo did everything to cast a bad light on Finn, even though it was 100 percent impossible for him to have been Ben Solo, it was nice for Poppy to think that way. It would only drive her further to Kylo and away from Finn, exactly what he wanted.

“No, you don’t understand! He’s gonna prove it to me, he’s gonna take me to Canada, to Quebec where we can be safe and be together! I just have to get him--”

“ _ No Poppy.”  _ Kylo said, yelling at her and letting his anger get the best of him. “If I  _ ever _ got caught helping a prisoner escape the Order like that they would have me killed, and I  _ refuse  _ to lose my life because of that traitor. Now if  _ you  _ would like to try to help him escape, go right ahead. But you’re not going to do it when I’m supposed to be keeping you safe in your own home.” Kylo yelled at her, drew the attention of one or two others walking back to their homes. “Now, show me where your home is, then you can plan your little escape tomorrow.” He took a deep breath, studied her heartbroken expression and felt just the slightest amount of guilt for losing his temper with her and yelling. The girl was 17, she was living a fairy tale and Finn was her night in shining armor. He didn’t know what kind of connections he had, or how he thought he was going to get from one border to the next with a 17 year old girl in tow, but he didn’t trust him. Kylo would do everything in his power to keep her from running away with Finn, even if it meant he had to take her himself. 

Poppy nodded her head once, then looked at the ground the entire was she led Kylo to her home. The two traded no words, no arguing and no pleading, just the sound of their footsteps under the gravel and the summer time bugs buzzing around them. It was sad, he never wanted to be angry at her, after all she didn’t understand what was really going on at all. Kylo felt awful, wanted to apologize but felt like he shouldn’t have to. Not right now at least. 

Much to Kylo’s surprise Poppy had led him back to the pavilion. He was angry, wondering what Poppy would want at the pavillion while everyone was filling out and back to their homes for the rest of the evening. “Poppy,” He said, his voice full of authority. He didn’t want to have to yell at her again, didn’t want to have to hurt her like he already had but he really needed to get her back home. He knew Hux would be questioning why she was not home by now, he had to come up with an excuse that would not get him thrown off the base like Finn. 

“Relax, this is where I live.” Poppy said, he could hear the telltale strain in her voice that she was trying not to cry in front of him. The guilt that had manifested itself in Kylo’s conscious grew ten times over, he never wanted her to cry. As she led him around the side of the pavilion he thought of ways to apologize to her, wondering if it would be better for him to stop her and say something or to just let her fume. He imagined she felt lonely, her boyfriend was being punished, her brother was angry and was punishing her boyfriend, and now the one person who had made her birthday worthwhile had yelled at her, who would she turn to now?

Poppy led Kylo through this door he had never taken the chance to explore, down a set of steps and through a beaten down door which led to an even smaller room. In front of a more normal looking door Poppy pulled out a set of keys and began turning the lock, when she opened the door Kylo was amazed. This must have been Hux’s home, and for something that had to have been built by hand, it was luxurious. The floors were all wood, the walls were white, and the furniture was all leather. Hux apparently had a thing for expensive decorations, because among the valuable things in his home Kylo took note of a miniature zen garden in a secluded corner away from the flat screen, 75 inch TV that hung on the wall, a miniature waterfall that was built into the wall in the same area of the garden, and a large fish tank that was built into the wall next to the TV. It housed several exotic looking fish, lots of colors and different sizes. Kylo was astonished, the Order was obviously much more loaded than he thought it was. 

“So, your brother wants you to--”

“I know.” Poppy said coldly, cutting Kylo’s explanation off as she ducked into a darkened hallway to the right. Kylo said nothing more, knowing he had hurt her so much already when she had already been betrayed by everyone around her was enough to just leave her alone. He had no idea what else he should be doing, his orders were to take Poppy to her room and protect her from anything going on outside. So Kylo sat down on the couch and stared at the enormous black screen of her TV. His small cave with no electronics and next to no electricity was nothing compared to what Poppy had now. The only thing that was comparable was the sound of the water running coming from the back of the living room from the waterfall, toward the back of his cave there was running water that he had managed to filter so that he could bathe. But that was it, the living spaces were polar opposites otherwise. If Kylo had any doubts that Hux was the leader of the Order, they almost all disappeared here and now, no other person in the Order had lived as well as he does, they all lived in converted motel rooms while he lived in an underground mansion.

It was quiet, the soft sounds had almost put Kylo to sleep when his phone vibrated in his pocket. He fished it out and opened it, Hux was contacting him asking for his assistance in his in-home office. From the living room it was down the hall and the second door on the left, much to Kylo’s surprise he was holding the deciding meeting in his own home and not in the main building. Kylo stood and walked down the hall, knocking on the door Kylo thought it was amazing that they were being so quiet. He had no idea there were other people in the house with them, at least he wasn’t doing anything suspicious.

“Come in.” Hux shouted from the other side, Kylo opened the door and was quite shocked to see that the only two people in his office: himself and Phasma, his girlfriend. Just as she had this morning Phasma was giving Kylo such a dirty, disgusted look as he opened the door. Hux held a welcoming smile for him, pointing to the free chair in front of his desk. 

“Why is this one in our home, Armitage? You know I don’t want him in our home!” Phasma shouted, Kylo’s eyes widened as he didn’t realize he was this hated amongst Phasma. “Nonsense, Kylo have a seat. Cool it Phasma, we need Mr. Ren’s input on this issue.” Hux said calmly while Phasma sneered at Kylo over her shoulder. “You know I don’t trust him, Armitage I don’t know if you noticed but it sounded like they had just walked through the door!” Kylo tried not to cringe as Phasma accused him of whatever she was trying to say, all he tried to do was thinking of an excuse because he knew Hux would not want to hear that. 

“Poppy was upset so I took her to get some ice cream from the market, that’s all we did in the meantime.” Kylo explained, hoping it would get the two off of his back. He wondered if he should tell the truth, tell them what he had heard Finn say to Poppy in the jail in defense of how he was currently being treated. “Not that it matters, Poppy is not the reason why I brought you down here, Kylo.” Hux stepped in very sternly, Phasma rolled her eyes before butting in and causing Kyo even more grief. “Don’t you ever see the way he looks at your sister, Armitage? It’s disgusting!” Phasma shouted, Kylo was sure he could feel his face turn red, he had never even seen this woman before today, but somehow she knew he had a thing for Poppy, maybe he hadn’t kept it as under wraps as he thought. 

“Just what are you trying to say, woman?” Kylo cut in, shouting at the mad woman. Even though he did love Poppy and wanted her all to himself, he’d never touch her, even imagine her in a sexual way. She was only 17, such thoughts and actions could land him in jail or worse. He was better than that, obviously Finn was not as good as he was in controlling his emotions.

“Figure it out.” She scoffed at him, looking back at Hux. Kylo was angry now, was almost ready to leave the room if he was brought here just to be called a pedophile. 

“Phasma, that is  _ enough! _ ” Hux shouted at the top of his lungs, causing Phasma to jump back from the desk. Kylo wondered about Poppy and if she could hear her brother shouting, he mostly felt bad for her. Today was her birthday and already so much had gone wrong. Kylo wanted to get this meeting over quickly, they were only shouting because he had entered the room. He had made a mental note about Phasma, she had better hope he doesn’t find her when he kills Hux. 

“Now, the reason why I’ve brought you here is to help us come to a decision as to what to do with the Prisoner, Kylo. We seem to be stuck between executing him or just simply letting him go.” Kylo smiled, two very good options for Finn, both would result in Poppy never being able to see him ever again. “Phasma here believes he should be spared and let go back to the nearest city of Alpine, but I believe that’s too risky. We’re running a militia here, a militia that we’re planning on overthrowing the Government. Freeing him would only put our organization at risk. We must kill him!”

“Come on, Armitage.” Phasma cut in again. “He’s a young kid, he’s only 21 he doesn’t deserve to die! Think of his family, and if he is a member of the Government or the police or whatever and he doesn’t come back we’re going to be on their radar for good!” 

“I understand that love,” Hux said, closing his eyes in a frustrated way. “But if the police come breaking down our gate we have the forces to be able to take them.”

“Which will make us an even bigger target! Armitage, you’re not thinking this through!” Kylo was about to enter with his own two cents, even though he was not even completely certain as to what he wanted himself. However, from behind him the door flew open and in ran none other than Poppy Hux, her face set in stone and eyes full of tears.

“Finn is innocent!” She shouted, drawing everybody’s attention to her. “Poppy! What are you--”

“I know he didn’t do it! Finn would never put me in any kind of danger!” Poppy said, balling her fists up in front of her chest. “Poppy, honey, let’s go back to your room.” Phasma said, taking her gently by the shoulders and trying to lead her out. “No, my brother wants to kill him but Finn doesn’t deserve it!” She shouted, an amused grin grew on Hux’s face as he leaned back in his chair. “Poppy, this isn’t up for discussion, not for you at least. Now please, go on to your room and--”

“Brother, I  _ love  _ him.” Poppy said, Kylo watched as Hux gasped and his eyes grew wide. “You what?” He whispered to his sister, leaning forward and unable to understand her. “And he loves me! He told me, he told me he loves me!” 

“Poppy, you are too young to love anyone other than me and Phasma.” Hux bit out, but Poppy still pushed through his anger. “I talked to him today, he told me you chose him to take me to the college in town! He said if he were Ben Solo he would have made the mistake of falling in love with the leader’s sister, so it wasn’t him and you need to release him!”

“Poppy Anne Hux you stop speaking like that right now!” Hux shouted standing from his desk and causing it to push forward just an inch. “That boy doesn’t love you, he was probably just using you to get to me! To bring us all down! You’re just too young to understand, you don’t know what love is yet.” Hux said, then looked over at Kylo wearing a very worried expression. “This seems like even more of a grounds to kick him out, starting a secret relationship behind my back with my sister, how inconsiderate!” Kylo nodded, holding back his amused look as that’s exactly what he was thinking before hand.

“No, Armitage you don’t understand!” Poppy shouted, her tears now splashing noisily onto the floor below her. “I do love him, I love the way he holds me and kisses me, the way he talks to me and everything about him! If you kill him I will never,  _ ever,  _ forgive you!” 

It was almost as if someone had switched something on inside of Hux. Kylo watched as he entire face turned red, his lips turned up in a rage as his white teeth shone in his mouth. “He’s put his hands on you?!” He said, now letting all of his anger show for the world to see. “Come Poppy, we need to go to your room now.” Phasma said, taking Poppy a little more firmly and pulling her out of the office. Just like on the stage Kylo was terrified of Hux, almost feeling the need to run out with the two women to get away from him. 

“That boy is hereby banished from The First Order, even if he is not guilty he will  _ never  _ step foot on our soil ever again!” Hux yelled after Poppy, when the news traveled down to her Kylo heard her shriek, began to sob as loud as she could. “Noooooooooo!” She shouted, Kylo could hear her sorrow even as the door to her bedroom shut. On the inside Kylo was grinning from ear to ear, even though it may be getting him in trouble in the long run he was happy he had gotten the results he had wanted, even Hux came to find out what was going on between the two young lovers and immediately put an end to it. He couldn’t wait to see Finn be thrown off of the compound, then Poppy would be all his.

“Kylo, follow me. I’ll need your help with getting rid of this vermin.” Hux said, gathering up his paperwork and beginning to file out of his office. Kylo followed him submissively, cackling at the sound of Hux mumbling under his breath on his way out: “He put his hands on my sister, he is fit for death but he should have to live with the threat of me looming over his shoulder.” Kylo’s plan had been executed flawlessly, he couldn’t have been more proud of himself even if he wanted to. Now all that was left was for him to figure out how he’d come to end Hux’s life. He had become quite attached to him and his sister, he wasn’t even sure if he could break Poppy’s heart more than he already had. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for the late update, had a rough last few days.   
> This time I promise that the next chapter will be more exciting!


	9. Chapter 9

The boy had been booted off of the base, driven to a secluded location and released in the middle of the desert. Hux and Kylo said no words to him before driving off in the direction they came, Kylo had almost felt sorry for Finn as the image of him shrank in the rearview. But at the same time, it was oh so sweet to know that Finn would no longer be standing in his way, keeping him away from his beloved Poppy. So Kylo drove off, not a care on his shoulders and not a shard of remorse in his heart.

“So, Phasma.” Kylo started, his elbow hanging out of the window while he drove through the sand one-handed. “What’s that woman’s deal? Why does she hate me so much?” Next to him in the passenger seat, Hux chuckled at Kylo’s question. “Phasma, oh Phasma. She’s got a very wild imagination. That’s how she’s always been.” As Hux explained the ways and mannerisms of his girlfriend the sand was kicked up by the tires of the old jeep and into Kylo’s face. Kylo hated sand, it got everywhere and was quite the nuisance but he had no choice but to endure, the Jeep had no windows and even if they did he knew he’d be too hot and uncomfortable in the heat to have them up.

“She’s so in love with Poppy. Whoever she considers to be a threat she pursues. She’s probably just reading into a little too closely between the lines.” Kylo shook his head, Hux was simply passing Phasma’s interest off as her normal behavior. Of course, she did have reason to worry since Kylo was into Poppy, but when it all came down to it she didn’t have a reason to hate him, because Kylo would never try to pursue her while she was underage. “Well, if you ask me she probably should have been keeping a closer eye on that Finn character. He was the one who started a relationship with her, not me.” There was a sense of pride in that statement, Finn was the one who was breaking the law as well as Hux’s rules, not Kylo. Hux laughed at the statement and Kylo couldn’t help but to smile as well, everything had felt like it was in its perfect place that afternoon, and Kylo couldn't wait to get back to the base just to relax.

“Phasma was the one who helped me raise Poppy. She was a high school girlfriend of mine that reconnected with me in Amarillo after I brought Poppy home. Phasma thought she was my illegitimate daughter. She made fun of me as soon as she saw her little hand in mine, our first relationship hadn’t ended on very good terms so I guess she felt entitled.” What a surprise, Kylo thought to himself, a woman who didn’t mind being rude toward a stranger had a relationship that ended on a sour note. “At the time we had just had a chance meeting at the mall, I had just enough time to tell her she was my little sister who needed a new pair of shoes before stepping out of her way and walking to the shoe store. I went on with my day, found Poppy the cheapest pair of shoes I could find and still came up two dollars short at the register. My poor baby sister was sitting there in a beat up pair of sandals I had given to me by a neighbor but it was going into winter, she needed actual shoes. 

“I was trying to barter with the cashier but she wouldn’t budge, I began to hand the shoes back to her when Phasma came up behind me, told the cashier she’d happily pay the $15 for her shoes. Even though I still hated her at the time I thanked her, had to hold back my tears as the cashier handed me the shoes. As you could imagine, working as a waiter at a cheap cafe didn’t bring in a lot of money, $15 for a pair of shoes had basically taken away a huge chunk of our food money for the week. Phasma stopped me, took another look down at Poppy before taking my hand and asking me what was  _ really  _ going on in my life. I sent Poppy to go play in the children’s area of the mall while I bawled my eyes out to Phasma, telling her about how poor Poppy and I were living in a single room I was renting. I told her about how I tried to find time to homeschool her since I didn’t want her to be taken from me and put back in the custody of my parents. I had no idea what I was going to do and I had just felt so useless. She comforted me, apologized for treating me so poorly earlier on that day and offered to take us to dinner. We kept in touch after that and eventually we rekindled our relationship, we raised Poppy together and we struggled together. There were two incomes coming into one household which was nice, but we were still broke and still just barely scraping by.”

From the way Hux carried himself, Kylo would have never guessed he was ever poor. He was always so humble and so generous, it was like he was accustomed to the lavish lifestyle he lived with his sister. “So one day, Phasma came home saying she had just got a new job that was going to pay for everything we needed, all we had to do was relocate to southern Texas. She wouldn’t tell me anything about it which really put me off, but she insisted our lives would change forever. At the time we were in such a rough spot I felt like we had no choice, so we packed up everything we owned and began the long drive down to Alpine. She didn’t tell me that she had signed all of us up for a cult membership, at least that’s what it seemed like when we first offloaded at the compound.”

“Wow, you’ve really been in the First Order for 11 years?” Kylo asked, he didn’t even think the militia had been around for that long. “That we have, Ren.” Hux smiled proudly as Kylo pulled onto the main road back to the compound, nodding his head. “Yep. I came in with Phasma when she was hired on as a recruiter, then worked my way up.”

“Oh? You just lived there like the other civilians?”

“Yes sir. Then I became an assistant to the leader, then after a few years I was promoted to an actual assistant leader, and as of two years ago I am the proud leader of the First Order militia.” Hux beamed at him proudly, but Kylo was feeling all sorts of regret stirring in his abdomen

Even though he was driving Kylo held his eyes closed for half a second as the words soaked in. Hux was the leader, a man that Kylo had grown quite attached to and Poppy’s own brother that she loved dearly, and now 100 percent confirmed to be marked for death. Everything had pointed to Hux, the way he spoke and the way everyone else spoke about him, Kylo just didn’t want to admit it. He considered Hux to be a friend, and Kylo hadn’t ever executed a friend before.

“Well, good for you man.” Kylo gulped, unable to say anything else to the dead man walking. “Yes, I worked very very hard and I can only hope that I’ve made both Poppy and Phasma proud of me.” Kylo picked up speed, trying to drown out Hux’s voice with the sounds of the car and engine. Even though he and Hux were on good terms, Kylo ultimately decided that he had to carry out the hit. He had already gained almost all of the hit money from Dameron and he was already so invested in this hit, he couldn’t back out now. 

“Hey, thanks again for ridding our compound of that useless little man." Hux broke the silence, leaning over to Kylo who was still trying to work out how he was going to have to push his emotions aside to kill him. "How about you come over for dinner with my family tonight in our home? I mean, you already know where we live. It can be a feast, a full celebration.” Kylo cracked a smile in Hux's direction, deciding that one more meal with his friend before his death would be good for everyone. He just hoped that Poppy would not be destroyed beyond repair after the act was said and done.

 

Hux and Phasma are setting the table as Kylo stands back and watches, paying particular attention to Hux. He had to set a date of death, would it be tonight? Tomorrow? Next week? Next month even? He shook his head just slightly, the sooner Hux was eliminated the better. He’d have to murder him and then run, run off to his cave and never look back. Not at Poppy, not at Phasma, and not at the First Order. He could collect the rest of his pay from Dameron and never think about anyone from the Order ever again. His heart broke for Poppy, he’d likely never see her ever again after painfully ripping her brother, her savior, away from her. But he had no choice, he needed the rest of his money.

“Well, Armitage, Poppy won’t be joining us. She’s hold up in her room and refuses to leave.” Phasma sighed, the entire evening she refused to even look at Kylo. It didn’t matter, the only thing Kylo could think about was how disappointed Poppy would be after Kylo completed his hit. He never intended or wanted Poppy to be so sad, but it just had to be done. This is what Kylo’s chosen profession was, Hux had to die.

“Teenagers.” Hux scoffed, placing a plate of stuffed roasted peppers on the table. “She’ll come around. Come, Kylo. Have a seat at the table, let’s eat!” He smiled at Kylo, to which Kylo took a look down the hall. He felt bad for poor Poppy and wished she’d come out to dinner. “You know, I’m gonna run to the bathroom.” Kylo said, thinking maybe if he by chance ran into Poppy he could coax her out. After all, this was likely going to be one of the final dinners she’d have with her brother. He crept into the back hallway, eyeing her door which had her name engraved in a small yellow plaque. He thought briefly about knocking but didn’t want to be invasive. So instead he carried himself to the bathroom, coming back out he took one more look at the door where he saw one eye peeking at him through the door.

“Kylo, pssst.” Poppy said quietly. Kylo took a step to her door, surprised when it opened a little bit more. “Come in.” She whispered, stepping away for Kylo to just barely squeeze his large frame through the door. 

Poppy’s room looked much like his own on the compound, small. Her room was small but much more decorated and colorful than his room was. Hers had lots of yellow and pink accents, very teenage-like and girly. Poppy looked distressed, almost as if she were going to get ill right in front of Kylo. She nervously played with her fingers as she gulped, unable to start her sentence. The two of them stood in silence before Poppy took in a large breath of air, finally explaining to Kylo what she needed.

“Kylo, you know you’re like a big brother to me, right? And, and you’d do anything to make me happy?” Kylo cut his eyes at her, slowly nodded his head as Poppy bit her lip and looked past his head at her door. What was this about now?

“Okay, so I need your help.” She starts, seeming to perk up once she finally conveys her cry for help to him. “Finn got kicked out today, and luckily they gave him his cell phone back. A while ago Finn gave me his number, and we messaged back and forth on my tablet so when he was able to he messaged me back….” Poppy gulped, Kylo absolutely did not like where this conversation was going. “...he told me he could come get me.”

Kylo couldn’t believe what he was hearing. He knew he should have taken that phone off of Finn! “So, tonight I’m running away. I can’t stand my god damn brother bossing me around anymore and controlling me, and I need your help.” It looks as if Poppy is sweating, her speech is speeding up like she’s nervous and Kylo almost can’t hold his rage back. “In the top drawer of the cabinet in my brother’s office is a wad of cash he keeps for emergencies off the base, the last time he counted it he had like 5 grand. Finn says he has a car and he can take me away so we both can be happy together, please, will you help me get that money and get off the base?” 

The first thing Kylo wants to do is shout ‘no’ as loud as he can. The plan to get Finn kicked off of the base so that Poppy could be his had back fired on him, now what would he do? 

“Poppy, why? Why would you want to run away from what you have here? Why do you want to be with that boy so badly?” The questions were genuine, Kylo just didn’t understand. How did Finn think he could drive all the way to Quebec, all the way up north with the leader of the militia’s sister in the car with him? Hux had hundreds of people at his disposal, there was no way Finn would make it out alive after executing this plan.

“Because my brother made me look like a fool! I can’t stand him anymore! He treats me with no respect, he treats me like I’m 5 years old!” Poppy stomped her foot and crossed her arms, if she was going for being an adult right now she was failing. “I’m grown, I can take care of myself! I don’t need Armitage breathing down my neck like he does. Kylo, I love Finn, and Finn loves me. I know he and I can live happily together.”

Kylo wanted to vomit at the statement, a 17 year old girl cannot fall in love with a 20 year old man in a week. This plan was absurd, even if Kylo was not fond of Poppy like he was now he’d object immediately. 

“Poppy, I can’t help you. Your brother is the leader of this militia and if he caught me trying to help smuggle you into that boy’s car he’d have my head. Now if you know what’s good for you you’ll come and enjoy a meal with your family and I. Your brother just wants to spoil you on your birthday.” Poppy scowled in response to Kylo’s rejection, he could see her eyes starting to glass over and realized she was about to cry. 

“Well, I’m still leaving, even if you won’t help me I’m meeting Finn tonight!” Kylo rolled his eyes at her, this was absurd. “He’s going to be outside of the gate at exactly midnight, and then you’ll never see me again!” Poppy turned on her heel and walked up to her window, wiped tears out of her eyes as she tried to ignore Kylo’s presence. 

Kylo on the other hand was floored. He couldn’t believe the audacity of that boy! When it came down to it, Poppy was supposed to be Kylo’s in a year! If Poppy were running away tonight then he’d truely never see her again. Kylo began to panic, what could he do? What could he say to change her mind? His hands began shaking, his mouth opening and closing while trying to think of something, but nothing came to mind. The rage was making him unable to think straight, and after just a few moments of listening to Poppy’s small cries and watching her stand in the silver glow of the moon, only one possible solution came to mind. One solution that would guarantee Poppy would end up being his all while everything else went according to plan.

“Okay, Poppy. I’ll help you run away with Finn.” Kylo said, trying to relax as he formulated his new plan. “But only on one condition.” Poppy twisted her body around to look at Kylo, her hand rested on her cheek as she waited for Kylo to continue his speech. “If something happens to you tonight, Hux and Phasma will suspect me.” Kylo allowed a cryptic smile to stretch across his face, why hadn’t he thought of this before? “So if you really,  _ really  _ want to run away, have Finn come pick you up tomorrow night. I’ll help you get the money and I’ll help sneak you out of the walls. Just like how we used to meet at the shooting range?” 

Poppy ran her fingers over her lip as a smile broke over her face. “You, you really mean it Kylo?” She took a step toward him, still sounding unsure of his motives. “I do. I understand how important he is to you, and I think you two deserve to be together. Kylo did his best to hide his eye twitch, saying this kind of thing would help hide his true intentions from Poppy and he couldn’t believe that she believed him. “Oh, Kylo. Thank you.” Poppy said, soaring into his arms and hugging him tight. “This is the best birthday gift ever!” She said, Kylo could feel his shirt dampening from her tears. This poor girl, it was her birthday and how many tears had she shed today? She deserved to be happy, and Kylo certainly had plans to make her happy.

“Speaking of birthdays, why don’t you go out and have dinner with your brother. It your birthday and one of the last meals you’ll ever spend with him.” The phrase felt so evil on his lips, for it had two completely different meanings: one for Kylo's plan and one for Poppy's plan, which both involved Poppy never seeing her brother ever again. She leaned her head back and looked so deep into Kylo’s eyes, so deep he felt like she was actually considering what he was saying. “Don’t you want one of the final memories with your brother to be a happy one?” Poppy wiped her eyes, leaning her head back into Kylo’s chest. “I, I guess you’re right.” Poppy said, taking one last sniff. Kylo brought his arms around her waist. “Thank you, Kylo.” Poppy said, then took Kylo by complete surprise.

It all seemed to go in slow motion, Poppy adjusted herself in his arms and leaned up on the tips of her toes. In a swift second her warm lips were on Kylo’s cheek, Kylo had just enough time to widen his eyes before she disconnected from him, the suction her lips had made sounded so lewd as she sank back down to the floor. Kylo looked down in disbelief, this night was going so much better than he ever would have imagined. 

Poppy fell out of Kylo’s arms, taking a timid step back before planting her arms behind her back as if her action embarrassed her. “Okay, I’ll be out in a minute.” She said quietly, turning around to her closet. Kylo nodded his head, turning and walking through her door and back to the dinner table.

Hux was sitting there next to Phasma, cocking his brow as he watched Kylo walk from his sister’s room to the table. “Having a conversation with Poppy?” He asked, inquisitively, Phasma rolled her eyes at him before calling him a dirty bastard. By now Kylo was fired up, he couldn’t stand that woman and her blatant disrespect. She would surely meet her end at Kylo’s hand.

“She wanted to ask me a question, but she says she’s on her way out to have her birthday dinner with her family.” Kylo sat with a smile, ignoring Phasma as much as he could. “Well, what a surprise.” Hux said, raising his eyebrows and reaching for a pepper. “Thank you for talking some sense into her, Kylo.” Hux praised him, to which Kylo nodded his head. He took a look around Hux’s kitchen, looking for the tools of his next trade. He had found all the usual items people used for this kind of thing, he could only imagine that there were other things that he could not see, chemicals hidden beneath cabinets that may or may not be useful for him. But what really drew his attention was the alcohol that was perched on top of Hux’s cabinets. That would be his best bet, he had to lower their inhibitions before he could strike like the predator he was. 

“Hux, why not celebrate with some of the alcohol you’ve got there? I mean, it’s Poppy’s birthday and we should celebrate ridding our organization of that wretched man.” Hux ran his tongue along the inside of his cheek, contemplating Kylo’s gentle suggestion. Kylo smiled, his fingers twitching fervently as Hux turned to view the bottles of alcohol. “Hmm, maybe if Poppy does show her face she can have just a sip.” Hux turned around and reached for the bottle of Rum, Kylo couldn’t have been happier, especially as he heard Poppy’s door open and close behind him. Tonight would be a night for everyone to remember, Kylo was determined to make Poppy his.

 

The first one to meet their demise was Phasma. After Poppy went to her room around 8 pm Kylo made sure she was asleep while everyone else continued to drink. Hux retired to his office while Kylo rested on the couch watching TV. In the reflection he saw Phasma mosy into the bathroom, now was his chance. As quietly as he could he snuck up behind her, took her by the throat and strangled her, being sure to cover her mouth as to silence her cries for help. The alcohol slowed her down, sped up her death and soon she was lying completely lifeless on the bathroom floor. Blue, still, dead. Kylo wanted to spit upon her, all of the trouble she gave him was worth this one night, to see her die was something Kylo would never regret. 

“Keep your eyes on the real threat next time, bitch.” Kylo said silently before shutting off the light, locking the door and closing it behind him. 

Next on his list was Hux, who had taken a bottle of Bacardi with him back to his office. The man had seemed happily drunk as he watched videos on his computer. “Ah ha! Ren! Glad to see you’re still here!” He slurred, opening the bottle once again and taking a swing. “Listen, I don’t know where I’d be without you, my dear friend. Maybe one day, you can take over for us.” He burped, trying to stand up and basically give Ren a hug. Kylo pushed him away, he considered the man to be a friend but not friendly enough to hug. 

“I consider you a friend too, Armitage.” Kylo said, taking a step toward his desk. He had a plan, knock him out with the bottle of rum and leave him to die in the fire he was going to set in his office. At least when he died Kylo wouldn’t actually be responsible, it would be the fire’s fault. If he hit Hux over the head with the bottle and it shattered that would be even easier, the alcoholic content in the Bacardi made it so flammable that Kylo was certain if he lit a match the entire pavillion would burn down. 

So with his heart pounding in his ears, Kylo asked about a plaque on the wall and was hardly surprised when Hux turned around to grab it. He was drunk, stumbling over a stack of papers on his desk as he reached up, standing on the tips of his toes he pulled the golden plaque off the wall. Kylo took this as his opportunity, without another thought he reached for the long, clear bottle and struck Hux over the head with it. Kylo watched in horror as Hux fell forward with a pained grunt into his shelves, knocking several things over and creating so much noise in the process. He cringed, realizing the bottle hadn’t shattered and Hux was now turning onto his back to face him.

“Arge, what the hell Ren?!” He said, now seeming to sober up. Kylo didn’t have the time, Hux now knew that Kylo was here to harm him and he had to go unconcious. 

Kylo wasted no time dropping into a squat and wrapping his hands around Hux’s throat, when he found Hux was struggling, kicking things and making even more noise he had to sit on him, squeezing his legs together to stop Hux from kicking himself free. 

“Ever heard of Ben Solo, Hux?” He said, couldn’t help but to smile as Hux’s face turned blue ever so slowly right in front of his eyes. The look of betrayal hurt even Kylo, who didn’t often feel so attached to others as he did to the Hux’s. He was shaking his head under Kylo’s grasp, in response Kylo tightened his fingers around his windpipe. Hux gargled and heaved, clawing Kylo’s hands as he faught hard for his life, but Kylo just wouldn’t allow it.

“Even though I’ve only been paid to kill you, I’ve also killed your girlfriend, that bitch.” Kylo’s lips curled up into a smile, he had always received this special rush when murdering someone by strangulation. A morbid fascination of sorts, just seeing the life slowly leak out of them fueled Kylo’s needs so much, especially his need to steal Hux’s little sister. 

“I really don’t want to be doing this to you, I hoped you weren’t the leader, but sadly you were. Someone in the government put a huge bounty on your head, friend, and I was the one who got to execute it.” Hux began to settle, the deathly noises coming from his mouth began to slow as Kylo recognized the signs of life being extinguished over him, he needed to cease soon if he didn’t want to kill him. “I’m gonna take good care of your little sister, you don’t have to worry about Poppy. I love her, I’ve loved that girl ever since I first laid eyes on her.” Hux’s eyes lit up and he seemed to gain just a tad bit more energy at the mention of his sister, Kylo giggled at him. “Yeah, I figured you wouldn’t approve. But it’s okay, cause I’m gonna burn this mother fucker to the ground, and I’m going to take her back home with me. So there, at least you’ve met your end knowing your little sister is going to be with someone who truly loves her.” 

It didn’t take long after Kylo’s speech for Hux’s eyes to simply shut and for his entire body to go still. Just for good measure he kept his fingers on his throat for five extra seconds, till it would seem he was dead. Kylo fully let go, taking in the bruises on his neck and the broken blood vessels in his eyes. He let out a growl, an animalistic noise to let out the remainder of his frustration. Another kill in his books, that’s all this man was, just another payout. Hux was dead, Phasma was dead, there was only one thing left to do.

Kylo shut off the lights in Hux’s office and checked on Poppy, by some miracle she was still asleep. He was ever so grateful, but before he could light Hux’s home on fire and escape into the night with his Red Lamb he had to create a distraction for the rest of the base. As quietly as he could he snuck into the night and ran all the way to the crop fields. He had to be quick before Poppy woke and alerted the entire base of the murders, so standing on the edge of the field he reached into his back pocket for his lighter and lit a stalk of corn. He watched it burn with a satisfied grin, then walked a few feet and lit another, then another until a good chunk of the field was alit in vibrant orange and red flames. On the same high he was on he turned and lit the field that they kept the animals in during the day, thinking that it would be enough to keep the population busy while he made a run with Poppy safe in his arms. He began walking away, reaching into his other pocket for his cigarettes and lit one, took one puff then threw it to the ground without putting it out, killing masses of people was a stressful job. This base would burn to the ground.

He walked as casually as he could back to the pavilion where he found both bodies still undisturbed, this was the final act in his master plan. He threw a bunch of papers on and around Hux’s body before opening the bottle of Bacardi and pouring the contents all over him. He took a quick look around his office for matches, they would be the easiest thing to use to light the place, but he found none. He cursed under his breath, he was running out of time. He retrieved his lighter and ignited it, dropped it into the alcohol and stepped back just in time before Hux’s body was lit in a modest flame. He nodded once, approving of the way the fire spread so quickly before darting out, leaving the door open to allow it to spread easier. 

He shouted Poppy’s name as he burst through the door, she sat up immediately. Kylo put on the best show that he could, leaning over and heaving as hard as he could, speaking as if he was out of breath to make Poppy realize that this was, indeed, an urgent situation. “Poppy, we need to go. We need to get out of here!” He said, running over to her and pulling her out of bed. “Go where? What’s wrong?” She asked, swinging her legs over the bed and standing. “No time to explain, but you’re in serious danger.” He said, reaching over and grabbing a full backpack, she probably packed this when she thought she was running away with Finn.

“Why? Kylo why?!” She shrieked, behind him he could hear the fire burning larger and larger. “Take my hand, we need to go.” Kylo leaned forward, taking Poppy by the wrist and pulling her through the door. Kylo wasn’t looking back at her, but from the loud gasp he heard as they passed the flames he could tell she was shocked, and who wouldn’t be if they saw their house on fire?

“Where are my brother and Phasma? We have to get them too!” She shrieked, pulling back on his hand. “Poppy there’s no time! The whole base is burning, we need to get out of here!” 

“No!” She protested, starting to run back toward the bedrooms. “My, we have to get my brother!” Kylo could hear the strain in her voice, as the room was burning down next to her she attempted to dive in. Kylo quickly caught her by her hips and spun her around, instead carrying her to the front door. “I’ve already looked, they aren’t here. We can reconnect with them when we get out of here.” Kylo said, letting the fake urgency in his voice carry in the stairwell in front of her door. He set her down and gently shoved her, he could hear the crackling behind him and knew it would eventually turn dangerous if the two of them didn’t get out. So he shot Poppy a look of seriousness, she finally began to run up the stairs.

As the outside door opened there was a heavy cloud of smoke that hung in the air, Poppy stopped as she took in the shocking sight and terrifying sound of the crops burning, Kylo could see her stand beginning to falter as it looked like she was about to pass out. “Keep going, Poppy!” Kylo shouted, taking a hold of her under his arm and pushing her toward the front gate where his car was parked. He silently thanked the lord that he had decided to drive his vehicle to the base the previous day, this never would have worked if he had been picked up. On the way there Poppy was rubbing her eyes and bawling, crying out for her brother and for Phasma as well as her ‘family,’ or just the other citizens that meant nothing to Kylo. But he still pressed on, taking advantage of the fact that the guards were currently trying to put out the fire and weren’t guarding the gate. 

He pushed her up to his car, as soon as they were out of the cloud of smoke she finally seemed to come to her senses. He opened the door and helped her climb in, as soon as her legs had cleared he slammed the door, tossed her back pack into the flatbed of his truck and ran as fast as he could to the driver’s side. She looked frantically at the smoke that rose over the gates, panicked as Kylo fished his keys from his pants and turned the ignition. “Kylo, we have to go help them! We can’t, we can’t just leave them to die!”

“They’ll figure it out.” Kylo said, immediately putting his truck into reverse before making the sharpest turn he could away from the base. It was then he let out his breath, realizing all of his plans had come 100 percent completely true. He had fulfilled his hit, he kept Finn away from Poppy, and perhaps best of all, he had claimed Poppy as his. She was sitting in the passenger seat of his car riding away with him back to his home. 

She was turning and watching her base go up in flames as Kylo drove her further and further away from the only home she had recognized for the last 11 years, Kylo knew the water works would be coming and they just so happened to come as soon as they hit the road.

“Take me back! Please I need to make sure my brother is safe!” She screamed, seeming to throw a fit right next to him. She sobbed into her arms, begging Kylo to take her back to the flames that would soon engulf her entire base. “Poppy, please. You cannot go back there, it’s dangerous.”

“Why?!” She sobbed, wiping her eyes and sounding like she was accusing Kylo of something. “Well, other than the fact that the base was burning down?” She whined again about her family, about how terrified she was that her brother was lost amongst the flames. Kylo was annoyed at this point, he didn’t expect Poppy to want to immediately run away with him but he also didn’t expect her to be so attached to the compound that she wanted to stay there as it was being destroyed. After ten minutes of listening to her beg, scream, and cry about Hux, Kylo couldn’t take it anymore. He made up a tale that he knew Poppy would for sure believe.

“Ben Solo. He was there.” Her sobs immediately ceased as she looked at Kylo in terror. “W-Wha--”

“He stopped me, he tried to  _ kill  _ me, Poppy! And he wanted the rest of your base dead too.” She was completely silent as Kylo spoke on, the sounds of the truck pulling onto the highway filled the silence between them. “Your brother, he’s dead. Phasma is dead too, and I have reason to believe that you were next.” 

Kylo watched as her breathing sped up, she began to hyperventilate as she stammered and stuttered, spoke in a way that Kylo couldn’t understand. Suddenly she reached her arm out over Kylo’s chest, grasping frantically for the wheel. He swerved, ended up all over the lanes in front of several other cars. When they finally stopped moving the only thing that could be seen in front of them were the headlights of a semi coming right for them, it was enough to cause Poppy to finally let go of the wheel and pass out next to Kylo. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Cheeky and I have been waiting to write out this portion of the story for ages.


	10. Chapter 10

As quickly as Kylo could he jacked the steering wheel all the way to the left and stepped on the gas. The sound of the trucks loud horn terrified Kylo, caused the adrenaline to pump quickly through his body as he just narrowly escaped the cab of the truck that was traveling well over 60 miles per hour. He swore, looking over at Poppy who was still passed out next to him, white as a ghost she looked terrified as she sat unconscious. “Poppy?” Kylo said, nudging her arm after Kylo had straightened the truck out on the shoulder. “Poppy!” He spoke a little bit louder, shaking her a little bit harder but she was out, unresponsive to everything around her. He took a look at her chest and noticed the rise and fall pattern, she was still alive at the very least, she had just passed out due to fright. He sighed, gripped the steering wheel tightly in his hand before letting out a frustrated growl. He needed to get home, he needed to get Poppy comfortable, and he needed a cold beer. 

He drove the rest of the way home in silence, every once and a while taking a look over at Poppy to make sure she was still alive. He felt numb, like the world was slowly falling apart around him while he was just simply driving to his cave. Had he really gotten away with it? Had he really burned down Hux’s home and kidnapped his sister? He felt as if any minute now the cops would be coming up behind him, flashing their red and blue lights and demanding he pull over. They would know, they would know he was the one who murdered two people in cold blood and burned down their home. He wasn’t usually this worried about his handiwork, even during his first kill he never worried about being caught. It must have been the thought of losing what he had worked so hard to earn: Poppy. He waited, plotted, and pounced at just the right time. Now she was his, and he couldn’t bear the thought of losing her after so much work. 

Kylo pulled into his cave, even though it had gone substantially darker he could look over and Poppy and tell she was beginning to suffer from the desert heat. She was still passed out, but her cheeks were flushed so crimson and her hair was damp with sweat. Her head sagged against the head rest as Kylo still counted the deep rise and fall of her chest. She seemed to have stabilized during the ride over, now all Kylo had to do was get her into the cave somehow.

“Poppy.” Kylo nudged her, trying to rouse her gently as to not frighten her. He had kept the headlights of his car on to illuminate their walk up to his handmade front door. “Hey, Poppy?” He asked, and she had finally started to reanimate next to him. Her head rolled on her neck from the window to him and she moaned, lifted her hands to her eyes and rubbed hard. “Poppy, we’re here.” He suggested lightly, wishing he could have said ‘home’ instead of just here. This was going to be her home, but he didn’t want to let on it this early. He was afraid he’d scare her, make her think he really did kidnap her when, in reality, he wanted her to warm up to him, to come to terms with her new living arrangements over time. He knew it wouldn’t be easy, but Kylo was willing to put in the time and effort to make her comfortable--no matter how long it took.

“Here?” She groaned, finally dropping her hands into her lap with a loud, exaggerated slap. She took in the sights around her, the deep, dark cave walls and the wooden door that was illuminated by the dim yellow headlights. Kylo saw the look of concern grow on her face, he could till this simply would not end well. “Where are we?!” She shouted, Kylo shushed her as her head seemed to turn in every which direction. “Poppy, please calm down.” He said, trying to stay as level headed as he could. Poppy panicking just as she did on their way up to the cave was not going to help either of them. He just wanted her to relax, to lay down in his bed and sleep the rest of the night away. The poor girl was afraid, nervous, and insecure. Kylo got it, Kylo understood it all too well. Everything Poppy had known for the last 11 years had just been ripped from her, traded for a life she had never quite lived before. There would be no more wifi, no more technology, no more great cooking, no more AC, no more comfy rooms, to name a few changes. But what she would have was him and his undying love for her. As far as Kylo was concerned, that was enough for her. In Kylo’s eyes he could give her anything she wanted, where there was a will there would always be a way.

“Where did you take me?!” She whined, and before Kylo knew it the floodgates had opened once again. “Poppy, you’re at my home.” Kylo tried to reassure her, but she didn’t seem to be receptive to him. She broke down into ugly sobs, dropping her face in her hands and screaming at the top of her lungs. “This isn’t a home!” She shrieked so loud that her voice echoed off of the walls of his car and hurt his ears. “This, this is a cave Kylo! This isn’t a home!” She began breathing deeply, almost as if she were going to pass out again.

Suddenly Kylo realized how bad this situation looked. 

Poppy had almost lost her life, at least as far as she was concerned. She thought someone, namely Ben Solo, had killed her brother and step sister and burned down her base. Now Kylo was taking her to a cave in the middle of nowhere, holding out information from her and just expected her to follow him past those gates. He was Ben Solo, but he did not want to kill his little Red Lamb.

“You just have to trust me, Poppy. I’ve lived here for years and I know my home can keep you safe.” She shook her head at him, throwing her entire body back against the seat. “No, Kylo I can’t trust you! You won’t take me back to look for my family and friends, there could have been survivors! My brother could still be alive and you still refuse to take me back!” 

“Poppy, it is past midnight, it’s pitch black outside and there is a serial killer out to kill you and your entire base. I’m not going to risk your life and mine just because you want to see a dead man!” He shouted back at her, he hid the cringe from his face as he didn’t mean to let on that Hux was dead so soon. “He’s not dead!” She shouted, taking a minute just to sob. Kylo rolled his eyes and leaned back into his seat, this was not going the way he expected it to. 

“Look, Poppy,” Kylo said, opening the door and finally gaining her attention from her hands. “I’m tired, I almost lost my life today after taking the risk to save yours, I’m going inside of my home and I’m going to go to sleep. If you want to take your chances trying to find your way back to your burnt down base through the desert, be my guest.” He slammed the door and confidently walked up to his gate, reaching in his back pocket for the key to the padlock. “I was only trying to help you, I was trying to keep you safe. But never mind.” In all actuality he wasn’t going to let her leave him. He was keeping a close ear on her, and when he heard his car door open behind him he knew he had won He heard her footsteps coming up behind him, small, short and gentle, she wanted to be with him, at least for right now.

He unlocked the padlock and knew what would come next, Layla would realize he was home and come happily trotting out to him. Poppy liked animals, but foxes were still largely considered to be wild animals, she would likely be afraid of Layla when she first saw her. It wasn’t until Poppy had walked all the way up behind Kylo that he had figured he should warn her. “Now, Poppy, I have a pet that lives with me, but she’s not a conventional animal, okay?” Kylo said with a heavy sigh, realizing he had no idea what to say next. He had trained Layla well, although she was shy around visitors she was more or less like a small dog. She would be excited to see Kylo, jumping all over him but as soon as she caught sight of Poppy she’d likely run away. So Kylo said nothing, he didn’t think Layla would be a threat to her. He removed the padlock and let the door open and, sure enough, his beloved fox came darting out to them, barking happily when he saw Kylo’s large frame and jumping onto his knees. 

“Hey there L--” Kylo said, then was very loudly cut off by Poppy’s screams directly in his ear. Layla scattered away, tucking her tail in between her legs and running off into the darkness of his cave. Poppy on the other hand had taken to clawing at Kylo’s back, making her way around him and into his arms. She tucked her face into his neck and, by the small trickle of water that ran down Kylo’s collar bone he could tell Poppy was terrified to literal tears. 

“Poppy,  _ relax. _ ” Kylo said, part of him wanted to push her away for being so dramatic, but at the same time this is what he had wanted for a while now. He wanted Poppy to look to him for comfort, to want to be in his arms just like this. So he wrapped his arms tight around her rubbing her back and shoulders to try and calm her. “It’s a fox!” She said, he felt her head turn just out of his chest and looked further into the dark cave. “She’s my fox, her name is Layla and she’s been domesticated.” Poppy rubbed her eyes, Kylo felt standing here in the dark was completely counterintuitive to her plans of easing her into his life and home so he began to walk them to the light switch Kylo had Macgyvered so many years ago. “I’m scared.” She said, tightening her limbs around Kylo. “I know, sweetheart.” Kylo said, taking a step and having to drag her with him. “There’s nothing in here that should scare you. I’ve lived here for years, scared away all the bats and made this place my own.” She said nothing, Kylo couldn’t shake the idea that she just didn’t believe him.

Eventually they had made it to the wall and Kylo was able to flip the light switch, instantly the lights flickered on around them and Kylo’s home came to life. His homemade counters in his mostly homemade kitchen, his little living space that consisted only of a single love seat with a table in front of it where he mostly sat to eat, then there was his bedroom that was closer to the kitchen. Poppy looked around with wide eyes, taking in the sights and looking completely shocked and surprised at the same time. “You made this?” She asked, although from the pitch of her voice it sounded as if she had said it to herself. “With my own two hands. Everything is fully functional, the lights, sink, fridge, and toilet.” Layla poked her head out of his bedroom, when she caught sight of Poppy her ears tucked down and she disappeared behind the wooden fixture once more with a whimper.

“It’s, it’s not gonna bite me?” Poppy asked. “Of course not. She’s probably more afraid of you than you are of her.” Poppy shook her head, she looked as if she were going to pass out. “Here, have a seat. I’ll get you some water.” Kylo said, leading her to his simple tan loveseat. When she sat she tucked her hands under her thighs and stared straight ahead to the table, she looked so shell shocked and just so incredibly sad. Kylo pitied her more than anything, he just wanted her to be happy with her new life, but he knew it wouldn’t happen instantaneously. 

Kylo squatted down in front of her, taking her hand and squeezing it to grab her attention. Only when her eyes looked into his did he finally speak to her. “You alright?” He asked, she nodded just once then closed her eyes. He was worried for her, didn’t want to believe that she was suffering but he could clearly see the misery on her face. “Let me go get you that water and a blanket. It can get cold during the night.” Kylo stood, letting go of her hand as he carefully took a few steps away from her, it seemed that at any moment she would break back down into tears--Kylo desperately didn’t want that. 

Back in his kitchen he reached into one of his cabinets and pulled out the nicest glass cup he could find. He turned the sink on and let the water run through the filter he placed before filling it and placing it in the fridge to cool. He had no ice, his partially solar powered generator could only give him so much power so he could not freeze things. He took one more look at the back of Poppy’s head before turning and heading to his bedroom to retrieve a blanket for her. 

Layla was curled up on his bed, she was nothing but a small ball of light red fur until her head picked up and her eyes sought Kylo’s. She whined, jumping up and trotting over to him and trying to jump into his arms. “Hey baby girl.” Kylo said, picking her up and snuggling into her. “I know she’s new, I know she scared you but she’s safe. I promise she won’t hurt you.” Layla laid her head down on his shoulder just as Poppy did, he realized that he now had two beautiful women to take care of. 

He carried Layla in one arm over to the cabinet where he kept his sheets and realized he had a pressing issue: There was only one bed. Kylo closed his eyes and let out an exasperated sigh. Taking Poppy had been such a rushed decision that he didn’t have time to prepare. The only thing he had time to do was grab the backpack that appeared was packed for her run away plans that night, and it clearly wouldn’t have a separate bed for her. He closed the cabinet, gripping the light blanket in his free hand and wondering what he was going to do. Tonight she could sleep in his bed while he slept on the small loveseat, even though he would have loved to sleep next to her he knew Poppy would never agree to that. The goal was to ease her into Kylo’s life style, forcing her to share a bed with him would throw her in too deep too fast. Besides, Kylo couldn’t put it past her yet that she would try and run, he didn’t want to keep the padlock on the inside of the door because he wanted Poppy to still have her freedom. Freedom to leave the house portion of the cave and go relax on the covered hammock area of the outside of his cave, or the freedom to just go outside in general. He didn’t want Poppy to believe she was locked behind his gate door forever, but he also didn’t want her to run from him and die in the unforgiving desert heat. Locking Poppy up and having her live miserably but alive and well was better than losing her and having to bury her in the sand that had consumed her. So Kylo decided that he would offer Poppy the mattress in his room until he could get her one of her own while he slept on the loveseat, at least if he slept in the main room of his home he could catch her if she tried to escape. 

He turned to make his way out of his room and came face to face with something that immediately stopped his heart. It was the whiteboard, the place where he wrote down all of his plans to eliminate the leader of the First Order, including the plan about removing Finn from the equation. He walked up to it as fast as he could, taking the eraser and brushing all of the ink off as fast as he could. As soon as the board was completely blank Kylo let go of his breath, realizing that it would have been the end of him if Poppy had seen everything lined out as to how he was originally going to take out her brother. He shook his head as he carried Layla and the blanket out to Poppy, at least it was the only thing in his home that would give away his true identity. 

Kylo rounded the couch and, as he did, Layla once again became fearful of Poppy. “No no, shh Layla it’s alright.” She was moving her paws rapidly, trying to jump off of Kylo’s shoulder away from Poppy. Kylo placed the blanket down on the loveseat and used his other hand to pet Layla, trying to help calm her down. Below him Poppy still looked up at him confused, afraid of Layla who Kylo was losing control of. He sat down next to her and she scooted as far away as she could, looking nervously at the squirming fox in his lap. 

Eventually Kylo lost the fight and let go of Layla who jumped out of his lap and ran back into his bedroom, Kylo sighed disappointedly. “Sorry, she’s just kinda skittish.” Kylo took the blanket and threw it over Poppy’s shoulders, as he did she seemed to relax just a hair. “She’ll get used to you, I’m sure.” She shrugged, clearly still unable to enjoy her time with Kylo. They sat in silence as Kylo considered offering her a soak in the warm underground lake that his cave connected to. He had found the source and placed a crude filter in front of it so it was acceptable for bathing, the water was warm and often relaxed him after a long day. But just like with her mattress, Kylo was not prepared; Poppy had no clothing and no underwear to change into. In fact, she was going to have to sleep in her clothes from today. Kylo shook his head before looking over sympathetically at Poppy, knowing she had probably thought of the same things at some point. 

“It’s going to be alright Poppy.” Kylo said, placing his hand on top of hers. Poppy closed her eyes, Kylo watched as a tear dripped past her eyelid and onto the grey fabric of the loveseat. He hated to see her so sad, but there was just nothing he could do to cheer her up now. “Tomorrow, I’ll go into town and buy some things for you. Some new clothes, some furnishings, some books. It won’t be long until it feels like home to you.” Poppy looked up at him sadly, blinking the tears out of her eyes before speaking up about the situation for the first time. “Take me with you, we can call the police and tell them Ben Solo killed my family.” 

“Poppy, Ben Solo is a legendary hitman. If your base is under his radar then surely so are we.” Kylo used a serious look to combat her pleading look of agony, the poor girl just had no idea how hard Kylo had worked to get her. “I’m sorry, Poppy. But it’s safer for us to stay here, to lie low for a little while and then we can go find help.” Poppy held his gaze for a moment before looking back down to the floor and spilling more tears onto the cold cave ground. Kylo removed his hands from her thigh and placed it on his back, hoping Poppy would one day grow to trust him. He worked so hard to get her here and wouldn’t compromise her for anything. He earned her, and the final part of his master plan was to earn her faith in him so that the two of them could be happy with one another. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yay! We've finally gotten Poppy to the caves!   
> Story is actually almost over, I can't believe it's coming to an end.


	11. Chapter 11

Kylo woke the next morning to Layla frantically licking his face, yipping here and there and trying to get his attention. He wrapped his hands gently around her, petting her ears down and realizing that it was way past time to let her out to the front of the cave. “I’m sorry, pretty girl.” Kylo said as he stood, clearly yesterday’s events had drained him and his body really needed the rest. He lifted Layla off of his lap and placed her to the floor where she whimpered, usually Kylo carried her outside of the cave to stop her from doing her business right outside of the door. 

“Hold on just one minute.” He whispered to the fox before stepping up to his bedroom door. As quietly as he could he opened the wooden door and peeked in at Poppy, who had gone to sleep in his bed with no problems the night before. He had changed the sheets, put a new pillow down, and a fresh blanket for her and she laid right down, he had even lit a candle for her to feel free to snuff out whenever she was ready to since the light switch in his home turned out all of the lights. He cast a look over her peaceful sleeping frame, it appeared she had let the candle burn all night long, the poor thing. Kylo knew it would be a scary thing at first, even he was afraid of sleeping in the cave during his first few nights. But from the tuft of red hair sitting over her face, her hands tucked under her head and the look of sleepy tranquility on her face, he could tell that she was at least comfortable and was catching up on some much needed rest. 

He closed the door as quietly as he could, only then scooping the small brown and red Fox up into his arms and walking toward the door. The sunlight shone brightly through the small cracks in the front door, which meant it was much later in the morning than when Kylo usually woke up. He took a look at his watch, 11:52 AM. He giggled to himself, normally he was awake no later than 7:30. “Oh well,” He said, lifting Layla up in the air and up to his face. “What can you do?” He asked as he placed a kiss on the tip of her small black nose. 

He lifted the key to the padlock off of its mount on the cave wall and unlocked the lock, hung it next to the key and then headed out into the bright, hot, Texas morning. He felt great; Rejuvenated, invigorated, and energized. It was as if Poppy were a drug, this was the most time he had ever spent in such close proximity to her and it was no less than amazing. Sure he had caused so much destruction, killed so many people and likely injured even more with the fire he started, and almost got killed on the highway the previous night, but he had his little red lamb, he had his Poppy and she gave him the hope he needed to know that everything was going to be okay.

He placed Layla down in his unfenced yard and let her run wild, do her business, then return to him when she was finished. While she was out running off some energy Kylo had thought himself into yet another conundrum. He wanted Poppy to feel comfortable, he wanted to help her adapt to his lifestyle but he knew he would need to change some things for her benefit. Like her diet, Kylo lived off of mostly meat. Game he had caught in the wild, meat that he bought from the grocery store or burgers he bought from fast food restaurants. Poppy of course was a vegetarian, and Kylo didn’t expect her to change for him. There must be ways to get her the food that she ate to the cave, but now wasn’t the time to worry. Kylo was certain there were at least some eggs in his fridge he could make her, along with a glass of orange juice he was sure he could get her through breakfast before he had to go into town to get her some more vegetarian appropriate foods.

Layla came trotting up to him happily, jumping up and pawing Kylo so that he’d pick her up and bring her back in for breakfast. He happily lifted her into the air and tucked her under his arm, trying to remember if Poppy liked her eggs scrambled or fried. He even wondered about creating a small garden of sorts on the premises somewhere; He had access to clean water and would have no problems getting fertilizer, he didn’t think the plants would be able to survive the desert heat so he’d have to get some artificial sunlight lamps. He sat Layla down on the cave floor and moved to get her doggy bowl that was drying in his sink, the idea didn’t sound so astronomical at all. 

Kylo took out a container of rabbit meat he had been storing for a few days in his fridge, figuring it would likely go bad soon he dumped the remainder of it into Layla’s bowl and set it on the floor. As he stood and watched Layla scarf down her food Kylo remembered he had grabbed a backpack from Poppy’s room the previous day, it may hold some valuable items for her and would probably make her feel more at home in the cave. He ventured out to retrieve it and, as he was standing against the wooden wall fixture, he felt the need to unzip it and go through her belongings. 

Kylo scowled, he knew rifling through her backpack that held her personal items would not be very kind. Poppy was not Kylos daughter, Poppy was someone Kylo wanted to be in love with at some point in the future. To love her meant to trust her, and to love him Poppy needed to trust him; going through her belongings without her permission would not make her happy at all and she’d probably find it hard to trust him if she found out. Instead, Kylo moved to the other side of the cave to his bedroom where he once again opened the door and slipped the backpack to the other side. Poppy hadn’t moved an inch and would surely see it when her eyes first opened, Kylo just wished he knew what was inside. He’d need to start working on a list of things she’d need sooner or later and it would just have been that much easier to check things off if he got the chance to look at what she had come here with.

He retrieved a pen and his notepad from the kitchen and sat down in his little living area, writing the title “Things for Poppy” at the top of the yellow paper he went to town writing down everything he thought she would need to make a life for herself in the cave: Toothbrush, deodorant, razors, a hairbrush, bobby pins (Kylo only had a set of broken ones for lock picking), a mattress, sheets, blankets, and so on. He went on to list as many things he could think of before he heard the sound of a zipper over the wooden walls of the bed room. His picked his head up, could just barely see Poppy moving around through the walls of his bedroom. 

He stood, perhaps a bit too excitedly as he rushed over to the bedroom door. He had to hold himself back, he wanted to do nothing but hug her and hold her and ask her how her first night was, but he knew it would come off too strong, she’d likely be afraid of him and just wouldn’t understand how badly he had wanted her to wake up in that very same position. Kylo didn’t want to be pushy, he wanted to be calm and courteous with her. So with Layla following close at his heels he marched over, as confidently as he could he knocked on the door, and when Poppy’s small, innocent voice traveled through the door telling him he could come in, he wasted no time in doing so. 

She was sitting on her knees on top of the mattress, still dressed in her clothes from last night while her hair was the embodiment of severe bed heads. Some of it hung in front of her face, some flying around here, there, and everywhere, and Kylo could have sworn she was holding some of her hair in her mouth. She looked just as lost as she did last night, but at least she seemed to not be as afraid of Layla as she was before, because Layla pushed past Kylo’s legs and happily trotted into the bedroom. Poppy looked down at her, and as soon as Layla realized Poppy was still taking up residence in her cave she tucked her tail in between her legs and ran back out into the living area.

“Morning, Poppy.” Her eyes rose from Kylo’s feet to his eyes, all she did was nod sadly in response. “I’m sorry, she’ll get used to you soon.” Kylo said as he took a step in toward her, Poppy took in a huge breath and exhaled, blowing some of her hair out of her face. 

“Thank you for my backpack” Poppy said, clearly trying to sound happy and hopeful but Kylo could see past her act. She was still terrified, worried for her friends and family back on the base. Kylo wanted to comfort her, but he had no idea how to do so. The only thing he could do was offer her everything he could, food, shelter, and support. Hopefully she’d warm up to him at some point and wouldn’t mind living in the cave.

“Not a problem.” Kylo smiled at her, but she did nothing but go back to rummaging through her backpack. “There’s not a lot in here, probably just enough to last me another few days…” she trailed off, pulling out a yellow toothbrush and a blue travel sized tube of toothpaste. “But, you’re gonna take me to the police today right?” She held the items tight in her hand, wincing just a bit as she waited for Kylo’s response.

“Not today, sweetheart.” Kylo said, trying to keep the disappointment off of his face. He had no idea what the media was saying about the fire at the compound; for all he knew Poppy’s face could now be plastered everywhere. Posters hung all over Texas that say ‘Have you seen this girl?’ News anchors sharing her story, begging her to come forward. He worried that the minute they drove into down he would be surrounded by cops who would want to take her away from him, put her back into the custody of her parents. Kylo shivered, that would be the last thing he would want from this situation. He would rather Poppy be on her own than with her good for nothing parents, and he was sure she thought the same thing. But for now, he’d keep her safe here, away from other people so she could not be identified. As far as Kylo was concerned, this was the safest place for her to be.

“But why not? We have to go and report Ben Solo to the police, he might have murdered my brother!” She whined, he could see the glimmer in her eyes indicating she was ready to cry again. Once again, Kylo carefully explained the false danger Poppy was in, that Ben Solo was out for her and her family and if he found her he’d definitely kill her on the spot. She stared at him with wide, sad, and confused eyes, dropped her head before moving to stand next to Kylo’s mattress. “I, I need the bathroom.” She stuttered, one stay tear falling down her cheek. She walked up to him just as Kylo nodded his head, Kylo felt the smallest bit of pride in the question, he felt it was one small victory in his book. She had admitted to her defeat, was not currently trying to get away from him and instead looking for the bathroom to brush her teeth and get ready for the day.

Kylo led her out and around the corner, a little bit deeper into his cave where the underground pool opened up for bathing. “Do you have clothes in that bag?” He asked, looking back just in time to see her staring in awe at the sights around her. Kylo often called it his “watering hole,” the water he sourced for his pipes came from this lake and he made sure to secure the run off from his soiled water where it would not contaminate his lake. He bathed in the lake, relaxed in the lake, and he had a special tub he’d fill with water from the lake for washing his clothes. The underground lake is what kept Kylo going when times would get tough, the water was always warm and comforting and the background noise of the water flowing from the filter was so tranquil. 

“Um, what is this place?” She asked, completely ignoring Kylo’s question. She placed the backpack on the ground and took a step toward the lake, Kylo didn’t mean to keep the lights in the “bathroom” portion of his cave so dim, but he had to admit that the low light aspect was also very calming. And now that he had Poppy in the lake room with him, he felt the atmosphere was very romantic.

“It’s my bathroom, if you want to call it that.” Kylo said, his heart swelling with pride as he showed off his favorite part of his home. Especially since this was the one part of the cave Poppy was enjoying. 

“Oh.” She said, looking around to the wall where Kylo’s toilet, mirror, and bathroom sink was. She sounded as if she were suppressing her wonder and amazement, as if she were trying to convince herself she didn’t want to be here when clearly she had been knocked off her feet. It made Kylo smirk, giggle quietly to himself as he imagined the conflict going on inside of her head. “Would you like to bathe? You’re free to take a dip if you need to have a bath.” The both of them looked toward the lake, Kylo pointed out where the soap was and wash clothes were and even promised her that he’d get her some soap of her own if she wanted it. 

“Er, no.” She said, crossing one of her feet in front of the other and taking a step toward the wall that housed the toilet. “I just wanna brush my teeth and…” She looked over at the path from where they had came, suddenly Kylo realized what the issue was. “Oh, of course.” Kylo said, taking some steps away from her. The girl needed her privacy, but Kylo had never bothered to build another wall. He could see the lake from in his kitchen, and the poor girl wanted some privacy. “Just come on out when you’re finished, okay? I’m gonna work on breakfast.” Kylo said, turning on his heels and heading to the kitchen.

 

The only thing Kylo had to make for breakfast was bacon and eggs. He went back and forth on whether he wanted to cook the bacon or not, but he was hungry and he only had four eggs left, two for himself and two for Poppy. Of course she wouldn’t eat the bacon, Kylo expected as much. He wasn’t even so sure if she knew Kylo ate meat, but he hoped she’d understand. He didn’t have much else for lunch and dinner that didn’t involve meat, so he would have to go into town this afternoon for some Poppy-friendly food. As he flipped one of the eggs he heard Poppy spitting her toothpaste out, indicating that she was almost ready to come out. He quickly plated the last egg and reached up for a new glass, removed the near empty carton of orange juice and began pouring it for her. He could just have water, since she was not having any bacon he wanted to be sure she was satisfied. 

She came walking out, her backpack slung over her shoulder and she looked just as sad as she had looked the entire time she was here. Kylo politely asked her to have a seat at his little dining room table and he’d bring her some food, all while Layla sat begging for more food from him. Poppy refused to look at him as she silently obeyed, pulling the old wooden chair out from under the small square table and dropping herself into it. Kylo tried not to stare at her as she sat with her chin in her hands, especially as she didn’t seem to react to the plate of eggs he had sat down in front of her. He tried not to worry, even if she didn’t want to eat he couldn’t force her. 

“Do you think anyone made it out alive?” She asked just as Kylo began filling up his glass with water. “I don’t know, sweetheart.” Kylo admitted, although if he had to guess he was sure some of the regular civilians likely escaped the flames. There was sure to be at least one person still out there that would realize Poppy was not found, which is why he had to keep her safe with him. 

Kylo sat down just as Poppy had started to say she hoped at least her one friend made it out, but as soon as her eyes saw what was on his plate she immediately stopped talking as her jaw dropped. “Ew, what the hell?” She exclaimed, clearly disgusted with Kylo’s choice of breakfast. Her eyes darted up to Kylo and he had to repress the entertained smile on his face. “What’s the issue?”

“You eat meat?” As to not agitate her any more than she already was, Kylo began digging into his fried eggs. “I do, Poppy.” He couldn’t look at her, it was as if the tables were turned and now Poppy had the upper hand. Kylo’s responses were short and sweet, he didn’t want this to be the decision that caused her to run away from him. “But, but at the compound--”

“I didn’t spend all my time at the compound, remember?” 

“So, so you lied to me?” 

“I never told you I was 100 percent vegetarian, Poppy. I don’t expect you to eat meat while you’re here if that’s what you’re worried about.” Kylo said, putting an immediate halt to the conversation, it was then he noticed Poppy was wearing a different set of clothes. The backpack was on the smaller side, that must have been the only change of clothes she had. 

She slouched, pushing her eggs away from her in a defiant act against Kylo and his rules. “Oh come on, Poppy. Are you really not going to eat just because I’m having bacon?”

“I can’t eat while you’re munching on something that used to be alive across the table from me.” She crossed her arms and looked down at her plate, Kylo had had enough at that point. Teenagers were so moody, and Kylo knew she was hungry. If throwing away the bacon meant she’d eat and nourish her body after a terrible time, then he’d get rid of it. Bacon was delicious, but he could always make himself bacon, he couldn’t get himself another Poppy.

He called out for Layla who wasn’t too far away from him, as she happily trotted up to the table Kylo fed her the bacon strips one by one, hoping it would make Poppy happier than watching him eat them. Once they were all gone he looked at Poppy, presenting his now half empty plate to her like a gift. “Happy? Will you eat now?” Kylo asked with just a hint of irritation in his voice. Poppy did nothing but stare at him, if looks could kill then the look she cast at him would have definitely left him deceased. It was clear she did not appreciate Kylo eating meat in front of her, but he didn’t appreciate having to waste perfectly good bacon. He looked down to Layla who was holding one piece between her front paws and chowing down, at least one of his pretty girls ate meat.

She sighed, looked down at her plate at the eggs and Kylo couldn’t help but to feel bad for her still. “Poppy, you’ve had a rough last few hours. The least you can do for your body is to eat.” He leaned forward, pleading with her to eat her eggs. Lifting the fork she broke one of the yolks, watching as the deep yellow liquid poured out over the white plate. She opened her mouth, Kylo began to rejoice as he thought she would finally eat, but of course that wasn’t the case.

“I only eat Avocado Toast for breakfast.” She grumbled before pushing the plate away and standing. With her arms crossed over her chest she stomped away, remembering to grab her backpack she walked all the way to Kylo’s bedroom where she slammed the door behind her. Kylo held his fork tight in his hands as he calmed himself, closed his eyes and listened to her quiet sobs coming from through his walls. This was a lot harder than he thought it was going to be. He took a look down at Layla who was still sitting and begging for some of his food, the only living being with him that currently was not experiencing any hardship. 

“Teenagers.” He grunted, picking up Poppy’s uneaten eggs and walking toward the trash can. Layla got excited and barked at him, as if she were telling him to share the uneaten food with her again. “Hush, Fox.” He said, placing the plate in the sink after he was done. “I would never have given you that bacon had I known she would have reacted like that.” Kylo reached down and petted his trusty companion, thinking now would be a good time to finish up his “for Poppy” list.

 

Kylo let Poppy have an hour to herself before knocking on his door, if he wanted to have food she could eat by dinner time then he would have to have a grocery list made up and sent to his informant soon. 

“Don’t come in.” She said with just a hint of attitude in her voice. Kylo rolled his eyes before opening the door anyway. He found Poppy sitting up on his mattress brushing her hair, she was sitting in front of her personal possessions: Her camera, some photos she had taken, her clothes from the previous day, and her tablet. “This is my room, remember?” Kylo smiled at her, trying to be genuinely light hearted with the comment. She looked over at him angry, then went back to staring down at her tablet brushing her hair. 

“Your stupid cave doesn’t have wifi, I can’t contact anyone back at home.” She began brushing her hair faster, he was worried that she was unintentionally pulling some out as she did. “Did you know that, when I was your age, we didn’t have fancy tablets, wifi, and all that good stuff?” She rolled her eyes at him, then told him that kind of life sounded horrendous. Kylo bit back the urge to tell her to suck it up and get used to it, she would be spending the rest of her life here whether she wanted to or not. He decided to put an end to the conversation, instead walking up to her and sitting down on the cave floor next to the mattress. 

“What have you got there?” He asked, looking over her shoulder at the things she had gotten from her backpack. “Stuff.” She bit out, she sounded so bitter and so angry at him that he decided not to pry any further. He came here with the intention of making her more comfortable, to piss her off even further.

“Listen, whether you like it or not, you’re going to be stuck here for a while. It’s for your own safety.” He started, he felt the need to reach out and grab her hand but she was still fiercely brushing her hair. She was nervous, didn’t want to be talking to him when she felt he was keeping her from her family. “You’ve got a special diet, and I have to send for some food that you’ll eat. That and a few other things, so why don’t you write down a list of things you’re going to need for me.”

She finally stopped brushing her hair in favor of looking at Kylo in complete disbelief. “Why not just take me to the store so that I can pick out what I want?”

“We’ve already had this conversation, sweetheart. I can’t let you leave just yet.” Poppy sighed, dropped the brush in line with all of her other belongings. “This is stupid.” She whispered, suddenly Kylo felt more like her Father because he wanted to smack her for being so disrespectful. “Well, if my kindness is so stupid then you better get used to living in two outfits as well as eating nothing but meat.” He retorted with as much authority as he could. It seemed to have done the trick, because Poppy looked back over at him with a sense of urgency in her face. “How much longer?” She asked, taking strands of her hair in her hands and twirling them around. “I don’t know, Poppy. We have to figure out what’s going on with Ben Solo and your compound first.” She shook her head, whispering a small ‘I guess’ to Kylo before reaching for the pen and paper in his hand.

The two of them sat in silence as Poppy wrote down a list of foods that she liked as well as a list of things that she would need, Kylo planned on combining the two lists together and then sending a message to his informant to pick the stuff up for him. Kylo looked over her stuff again, really looked at what she had. It was then he noticed that, among the photos she had taken with her instant camera, one of them was the photo of Kylo she had snuck at the mall on her birthday. 

“You kept that photo of me.” He smiled, remembering that, in one of the notebooks he kept from the compound, he had a photo of Poppy from that day too. She looked up momentarily before flashing him a half smile. “Yeah, of course.” She said, Kylo reached over her knee and picked up the picture, noting that at the bottom Poppy had written Kylo’s name and had placed a small yellow heart sticker next to it. 

“You’re like my brother, I didn’t want to forget you when I ran away with Finn.” The sentence made Kylo’s heart swell, thinking at least he had made such an impression on Poppy that she felt the need to remember him after she had left. It still killed him that she thought of him as a brother, but what other choice did he had? As far as Kylo was concerned, she didn’t hate him and that was perfectly fine with him.

“I have a few more, I’m glad I saved these.” Poppy went through a few more of her photos, but when she came to one of Armitage an immediate frown grew on her face. “Poor Armie.” She sighed, setting the pen and pad down in between the two of them. “When everything is clear, I think I’ll have to go back to my parents.” She blinked, Kylo watched in agony as a small tear cascaded down her cheek and onto the pile of photos she had. “Why would you need to go back to your parents?” Kylo asked, feeling a rage burning in the pit of his stomach. “I’ll need to tell them that Armitage is dead, or dying I suppose.” She wiped her eyes, Kylo felt even worse that she would even consider going back to the hell that was her parents house. 

“Do you want to go back and live with our parents, Poppy?” He asked, she couldn’t possibly say yes. After the way they treated her there was just no way. Even if she did say yes he wouldn’t allow her, they would treat her like shit and he didn’t think he could bear hearing about his Poppy being mistreated. “I don’t know, Kylo.” She said, looking up at him with reddening eyes. “I really don’t know. If Armitage is dead, then they’re the only people I have left.” 

Kylo shook his head, she couldn’t possibly be serious. “That isn’t true,” He mentioned, feeling the undying need to just hold her in his arms. This time he acted on the urge, simply reaching on to hold his hand in hers while she looked over the photo of her brother. “I’m here for you.” He suggested lightly, to which she nodded her head. “I’ll take care of you for as long as you’ll allow me to, Poppy. Until then, you have me.”

And only Kylo, Poppy would have only Kylo to care for her from now on. She just didn’t know it yet. 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Welp, so far so good for our little cave people.


	12. Chapter 12

Kylo sat completely stunned, waving around in his hammock under his makeshift canopy trying to stay calm while his informant explained the sticky situation he had gotten himself into. “What do you mean you can’t get me another mattress?” He said, almost a little too loud for his own liking. He didn’t want Poppy to overhear him and become worried over his newfound speedbump in his mission to get her items. “I’m sorry, boss. My car, it’s having some issues and it’s in the shop. Won’t be out for another few days.” Kylo grit his teeth, this would certainly be an issue.

“This isn’t something that can wait, I need the mattress and the other things on that list by this evening.” Kylo urged his messenger, a slight breeze flowing through his hair and swaying the hammock. “I don’t have the proper vehicle, all I have is the other half’s Mini Coop and it’s not going to do well in the sand and I can’t tie a mattress down to the top.” Kylo rolled his eyes, reached down below him to scratch Layla behind her ears in an attempt to calm his nerves. “Oh, but boss.” His informant cut in last minute. “That Dameron guy’s been asking about the job. Says he read something in the paper this morning about the place going up in flames but names don’t match up.”

“Shhh.” Kylo said, violently ripping his hand from Layla and throwing it into the air. “Don’t talk about that shit over the phone!” He couldn’t believe his informant would do such a thing, he wondered if Poe was giving him a hard time. “Just do what you can do, if need be I’ll buy her a new set of tires.” Kylo rubbed his forehead, resigning to spend another night on his couch with Layla on his chest. “Right away boss.”

“Hey, bring me a copy of this morning’s paper too.” Kylo said hastily. His informant agreed with a quick ‘yes sir’ before hanging up. Kylo sighed heavily, placing his arm over his face and trying to calm himself. He wondered what Dameron was talking about when he mentioned the names not adding up. He had already told him Hux was likely the man who ran the Compound, maybe his name did not appear in the paper correctly or maybe it didn’t appear at all. That would present a whole slew of problems that Kylo was not prepared to deal with.

“Kylo?” Poppy’s voice came weakly from the mouth of the cave. Kylo immediately sat up, swung his legs over the side of the hammock and made his way to the cave with Layla following close behind him. She didn’t sound like she was in distress, but nevertheless Kylo wanted to address her needs as quickly as he could. When he came out to take the phone call she had decided to take an afternoon nap, he didn’t want to wake her up because she had told him she had a hard time sleeping the previous night. He rounded the corner into the mouth of his cave and made the walk to his door in the dark, and as he got closer and his eyes adjusted he saw Poppy lingering in the door frame. She was running her hands through her hair nervously, her posture indicated a sense of fear or worry.

“Hey, what’s going on sweetheart?” Kylo said, taking the last few steps up to her. Her lip quivered just a bit before she looked down at the floor, clearly something was bothering her. “I’m sorry, but could you…” She trailed off, sighing heavily as she shifted her weight from foot to foot. Kylo furrowed his brow, not understanding what the issue was or why she didn’t want to talk to him. “Is everything okay?” Kylo asked, genuinely concerned for her. “Um, yeah everything’s fine, I just...I had a bad dream.” She finally looked up to him, and the look in her eyes told him she was begging for his understand. Kylo felt bad for her, like she was trying to apologize to him for having a nightmare. 

“Oh, I’m sorry.” Kylo said just as she went back to playing with her hair. What exactly did she want him to do for her? Every so often Kylo had nightmares too, but it wasn’t as if anyone could simply rip the memories out of his head so that he could relax right afterword. Then again, Kylo never really had anyone to share his dreams and nightmares with, only Layla who would just cuddle closer to him at night to try and make him feel better. Layla was wonderful, he loved her with all of his heart, but Poppy was different. Poppy was someone who could understand 100 percent of his speech, someone he could spend the rest of his life with. He’d be lying if he said he was not getting lonely, in need of someone to share his late night ideas, dreams, and nightmares with. That’s why he had brought her here, though. So that she could be Kylo’s friend and, one day, his lover.

“Well, do you want to come outside with me? I just stepped out to make a phone call.” Kylo said, pointing once again to the mouth of the cave where Layla was sitting, waiting for her master to come back to her. It was the only thing he could offer her, she had spent all morning inside and Kylo knew she would soon be getting cabin fever. At the compound she had spent most of her time outside, very rarely did Kylo encounter her in one of the buildings. He had no reason to believe it wouldn’t be any different out here. The only issue was she wasn’t in the middle of the forest anymore, she was in the middle of the desert. 

She turned around, looked inside of the cave that was still being illuminated by Kylo’s finagled light system. “Is it hot out there?” She asked, Kylo couldn’t help but to chuckle. “We’re in the desert, it’s going on 2 PM of course it’s hot.” She blinked, looked past his head at the mouth of the cave where the sun was beating down into the sand. “But I have a canopy, a hammock that you can lay in under the shade for a while if you’re interested.” He offered, he figured that’s where she would be spending most of her time anyway, while he was around to supervise of course. 

She smiled at him, then made a comment about how much she had missed seeing the sun. Kylo felt it was an overly dramatic way of saying she wanted to go outside, but nevertheless he led her to the front of the cave. With Layla trotting on forward the two walked around and Kylo introduced Poppy to his outdoor hang out spot. It was on the other side of the cave away from the generator, which meant it was quiet and peaceful. For the majority of the late afternoon and evening there was also a shadow cast around the wooden canopy which made the entire area that much more cooler. Kylo had spent a lot of time out here, got his daily dose of vitamin D and fresh air so that he would not go stir crazy inside of his cave all day. Layla was also free to run around within his sight, but mostly she stayed within the shade with Kylo, in the Texas deserts there were not very many shady areas so Kylo counted it as a blessing.

Poppy’s eyes lit up as soon as she saw the white hammock resting between the two wooden poles Kylo had erected in the sand for his canopy. “Woah.” Poppy exclaimed, stepping just a bit closer to the cloth. “Go ahead, have a seat Poppy. Let me go get you some sunscreen.” Kylo warned before walking off into the cave again, Kylo wouldn’t be able to forgive himself if he let Poppy’s pale skin burn in the desert sun. Even though Kylo’s tough skin had become accustomed to the harsh rays over the years, Poppy had just gotten here and Kylo knew there would have to be an adjustment period. Luckily for her Kylo always kept s bottle of sunscreen in his bathroom. 

He watched as Poppy climbed into his hammock, placed her hands behind her head and smiled bigger than he had ever seen her smile at his home. “Hmmm….relaxing.” She said, lifting her tablet up to her face. He hadn’t even noticed that she brought her tablet with her. He didn’t have a way to charge it for her, but if she were really adamant he could probably find a way place a socket into the walls of his cave, or find a solar powered charger or something. It would be no problem, anything for his Red Lamb. 

Kylo grabbed the sunscreen from the bathroom and while he was on his way back out into his yard he remembered the books that he had bought for Poppy for her birthday. He had them stored in the dresser of his bedroom and had decided now would be a good time to present them to her while she was in such a good mood. He fished through his dresser until he found the bag that contained both of the books as well as a pleasant surprise: The photo of Poppy he had taken on her birthday. He smiled fondly at the memories, she was just so gorgeous and so bubbly even though she clearly did not want to be living in a cave with him. 

He took the entire bag outside, bringing one of his dining chairs with him so that he could lounge with her. He smiled at her as he set the chair down next to the hammock, then simply handed her the bag with no explanation at all. He noted that she was looking rather confused at her tablet, but he just assumed it had died on her and thought nothing of it. He just simply watched her open the small bag while her jaw dropped and she squealed happily at the sight of the two books Kylo had saved for her. “Oh my god, how did you know that Orwell was my favorite author?” She placed the tablet down on her belly as she focused all of her attention on the book. “You told me, remember?” He said, reaching over and ruffling her hair. “On your birthday when we were on our way to the bookstore.” 

“Oh yeah, when you kissed me.” She giggled, Kylo noted her cheeks had begun to flush red. He couldn’t tell if recalling the memories were making her feel good or embarrassing her, but it was certainly a good memory for him. “Yeah, cause those bitchy girls decided they had nothing better to do but try and bully someone else to get my attention.” Poppy was silent, Kylo took one more look at her and she was taking another concerned look at her tablet. “Hey, Kylo?” She asked, Kylo had stopped messing with Layla long enough to give Poppy his full attention. “Exactly what part of Texas are we in?” 

“Somewhere around Plata, I suppose.” Kylo mentioned offhandedly. He had a map in his bedroom, tucked under his mattress where he had circled exactly where his cave was located, but he couldn’t be bothered to get up and leave Poppy alone when his informant should have already been on his way with Poppy’s food. It wouldn’t have taken long for someone to run to the nearest grocery store and pick up the things Kylo would need for breakfast, lunch, and dinner for the next few days. He suspected that, any minute now, he’d see the Coop driving up over the horizon. He just hoped there would be another mattress in tow, he didn’t know if he could take another night squeezing himself in his little couch while Poppy slept alone in his bedroom.

“Cool.” Poppy said, and just as she did Kylo noticed the sand beginning to cloud in the horizon. His informant was on his way, now Kylo would be able to make Poppy what she wanted to eat for dinner. He could hardly wait to see her happy over his dinner table this evening, eating whatever vegetarian friendly concoction he could make for her. “Yes!” Poppy suddenly exclaimed, Kylo looked back just in time to see her beaming at her tablet. “Sent just in time.” She looked over at Kylo, but internally Kylo was panicking at her explanation. “What do you mean, ‘sent?’” He asked, surely she couldn’t have meant she sent something from her tablet? He had no cellular reception and no wifi, that would have been impossible. 

“A few minutes ago a random unprotected wifi signal came through and I managed to send a message to Finn.”  _ Fuck.  _ His informant’s cars always had wifi installed in them so that Kylo would always be in contact, even in dead zones around the state, he didn’t realize they lacked passwords, although it probably had something to do with the fact that it was not his car, it was his girlfriend’s car. “So I told Finn he didn’t have to worry, that I’m with you and we’re in a cave in Plata somewhere. And I was just in time, cause my tablet is on 2 percent battery life!” Kylo stood up, adrenaline pumping through his veins as he snatched the tablet from her hands. She gasped, and sure enough once Kylo laid his eyes on the tablet it was connected to a weak wifi signal and she had been communicating with a contact labeled “Finn.”

  
  


_ You: Hey Finn, I’m sure you saw that Ben Solo attacked our base last night. I just managed to get a signal to message you but I’m safe. Kylo took me to his home, he lives in a cave in the desert lol. I’ve been there since last night but I haven’t heard anything from Armitage or Phasma. _

_ Finn: Holy Shit. I’m so happy you’re ok. What do you mean you’re in a cave? Tell me where, I’ll come get you.  _

_ Poppy: Hold on, let me ask Kylo. _

_ Finn: Hurry. _

_ Poppy: He says somewhere in Plata. _

_ Finn: Can you contact the police? People are looking for you!  _

_ Finn: Poppy? _

_ Finn: I’m calling the cops. _

 

Kylo was shaking, he knew he should have gotten rid of that thing when he saw it that morning. “What’s wrong?” Poppy asked, Kylo wasn’t sure how to react. He looked back over the horizon and was relieved to see that it was, indeed, a green Mini Cooper coming toward his cave and not a fleet of cop cars. Kylo desperately tried to calm himself, he didn’t want to blow up and lose his cool in front of Poppy when, technically, she hadn’t done anything wrong. He only had one option, and that was to destroy the tablet so this would never happen again. His informant’s car was getting closer and closer, and as it did he wondered if it were actually his informant or if it were Finn. 

He gripped it in both of his hands and bent it in half, cracking the screen and completely ruining it. Poppy screamed, sat up in the hammock as she watched the small flecks of glass falling to the sand below her. “Why did you do that Kylo?!” Her voice cracked, it almost sounded as if she were going to cry over the loss of her tablet. Kylo tossed both pieces of the tablet away from his home like a frisbee, and just as the Mini Cooper was slowing down a few feet away from them Poppy sprang free from the Hammock and tried to run after the broken components of the tablet. Kylo seized her by the arm, pulled her back into the sand all while she was kicking and screaming at him. His informant stepped out of his small car, watching the entire situation unfold in front of him under his pitch black sunglasses. His face revealed no emotion, to worries about the young woman screaming at him for help getting away from Kylo. Kylo took a strained look over his shoulder as he hoisted Poppy into the air, dragging Poppy toward the mouth of the cave.

She clawed at him the entire way in, screaming about how she needed her tablet to communicate with Finn but Kylo would have none of it. As soon as they had crossed the threshold past his door he let her fall, twisting around to her backside and looked at Kylo as if Kylo had stabbed her in the heart. “Why Kylo? What’s going on?” She shouted past her tears, but Kylo refused to answer her. He was stressed, worried that he’d have to pack her up randomly and relocate because the cops were coming after him, and he didn’t want to take it out on her. He simply reached over to the lock that was on the wall and tucked it into his pocket, then reached into the pocket of his jacket for a stack of bills that he knew for certain was in there. “Kylo? Kylo wait!” Poppy said as she attempted to scurry to her feet after him, but Kylo would not allow her to be outside while her wellbeing was in jeopardy.

He stepped out, placing the lock on the outside of the door and locked her inside of the cave. She banged on the door, begging him to inform her of what was going on but Kylo would have none of it. It was a total breach of his security and he had to make sure she did not try to run away again. Back out front his informant was coolly leaning against his car, waiting for Kylo with a stone cold face as he rounded the corner to speak with him again. 

“Who was that boss?” He asked, opening the car door and revealing the seat full of groceries and clothing. Kylo leaned in close, taking a look to the sky for any airplanes or helicopters looking for him and also wishing Hux would have killed the man who had called the cops on him. “Listen to me closely,” Kylo started, staying as calm as he possibly could. “You didn’t see anyone here but me. The woman that you just saw is my girlfriend, but if you’re smart you’ll forget you ever saw her.” Kylo forcefully took ahold of his hand and forced the roll of money--probably close to 3 thousand dollars--into his hand. “She’s probably pretty popular, you’ve seen her face before. She’s a missing person and it needs to  _ stay  _ that way.”

“Of course, boss. Anything for you.” He said, hastily shoving the bills into his back pocket. Kylo wanted to explain that, despite her shrill, terrified screams coming from behind his door, Kylo was treating her well. Why did he think he was to pick up all these foods that Kylo didn’t normally eat, all the girls clothing, and the mattress that clearly did not get picked up? But as usual, Kylo kept his mouth shut. The more he spoke, the further he’d be digging his grave.

“I have reason to believe that the cops have been alerted, you keep an eye on things out there in the city. You understand me?” The man nodded, always so obedient Kylo had no reason to believe his informant would ever betray him, but then again Kylo had never kept any hostages before--especially not any underage girls. 

“Did you bring the paper?” Kylo asked, finally falling away from the man and allowing him some personal space. “Yes sir.” He replied, then happily opened the car door and showed Kylo all of the goodies he had brought him, a rolled up newspaper sitting in a plastic sleeve sitting on top of the bags. “Perfect.” Kylo said, then took one more look into the air. “Hey, I need your help with something.” He said, picking up one or two of the plastic bags from the front seat. “Take down all of that on the side of the cave, bring it in and prop it up against the door. Don’t talk to her, don’t let her talk to you.” Kylo warned before picking up some more bags and walking toward Poppy’s screaming inside of the caves. “Yes boss.” His informant said proudly, then Kylo walked into the darkness of his own home. 

“Kylo!” Poppy said, banging on the door even still. The padlock was banging on the wooden door and poor Layla sat two feet away cowering in fear of the person behind it, Kylo had had enough. He fished into his pockets and produced the padlock key, unlocked the door and opened it only to have Poppy fly into his arms. “Kylo! Kylo what’s going on?” She clutched onto his clothes, looked up at him completely terrified. “Who was that man? Why was he here?” Her hands shook in his shirt, and soon Kylo realized what Poppy was truly afraid of he calmed down just a tad. Poppy wasn’t afraid of him for trying to run away from him, she was afraid that the man who had driven up was going to take her away from him.

“A friend of mine, Poppy.” Kylo said, moving out of her grasp and letting go of his breath. He felt like he could relax knowing that, at least in this case, Poppy didn’t want to be away from him. She might have thought that his informant was Ben Solo, coming to finish his job of killing her and her entire family, a thought that she clearly couldn’t bear. Of course losing her tablet had been upsetting to her, but the thought of being ripped away from Kylo by the hands of Ben Solo quickly trumped her materialistic need.

“It, it wasn’t Ben Solo? He’s not coming to get me?” She asked, following behind him as he placed the bag of groceries on the kitchen counter. “No, sweetheart.” He said, turning around with a sight. Gently, he took Poppy’s shoulders in his hand and looked at her deep in her eyes. He wanted her to understand that he’d stop at nothing to keep her safe, that nobody would ever take her away from him. “No, Poppy. That’s not Ben Solo, and even if it was he would have to kill me before I’d let him even touch you.” He said, Poppy smiled in reply, wiping the tears from her eyes as she let herself finally relax in his embrace. “I’m sorry, I was just afraid. You locked me in and I--”

“No, it’s alright. I shouldn’t have handled you like that. I should have known it would scare you.” Kylo said, dropping his hands and heading back out to the car. As badly as he wanted to have a heart to heart with Poppy, he wanted to get the groceries into the fridge before they went bad, and he wanted to help his informant get the canopy and the hammock into the cave before helicopters flew over. He tasked Poppy with unpacking and checking over the food while he brought the rest in, then moved to the door to bring the rest of the food in.

“Kylo?” Poppy asked, Kylo turned around just in time to see her fishing out the bag of avocados with an unsure look on her face. “Why did you destroy my tablet?” She asked, holding an avocado in her hand and fiddling with it nervously. “Because,” Kylo began, keeping his cool as he thought of a lie off the top of his head. “If Ben Solo had been living among you and your compound he may have had access to your tablet without your knowledge. Sending messages off of the car’s wifi might have compromised your location.” It was all a lie, Kylo knew that there would be ways to track her off of the wifi, she just wouldn’t have been tracked by Ben Solo. Without another word Kylo turned around and left Poppy to her bags of food, he needed to have a word with his informant.

 

Kylo leaned against the wall of the cave right outside of his door, his informant sat right in front of him smoking a cigarette while Poppy stayed inside going through her new clothes. He leafed through the newspaper, sure enough Poppy’s face was on the cover as well as the section of the paper that spoke of the fire that burned down the compound. There was a list of the deceased, most of which Kylo did not recognize and included Phasma toward the middle of the second column. It was rather long, his fire had caused more death and destruction that he had known. He was proud of himself he had taken that many people out with one bottle of Bacardi and a match, but there was part of the story that made him feel uneasy; And that was Armitage Hux’s name next to Poppy’s, among one or two others, on the “Missing Person’s” list.

“Critical Missing Person, hmm?” He whispered to his informant, commenting on Poppy’s status among the community. “What happened to her brother?” His informant shrugged, then gently commented on how he hadn’t paid too much attention to the case. Kylo scoffed, then took out the pages of the paper that contained the First Order’s story. “I should contact the police and report the man she tried to contact today. Maybe then he’ll be out of our hair and we can live peacefully.” He handed the other parts of the paper to the informant and asked him to dispose of the rest. “Is that what that was all about?” 

“It sure was.” He folded up the pages and placed this in his pocket, looking toward the wooden door. “Keep an ear out, try to find out what happened to this man here. I have to go figure out how to make fucking Spaghetti squash.” Kylo rolled his eyes, he was stressed out about the entire thing and, as a result, was not too enthused to not have his normal chicken noodle soup for dinner. “Hey, keep an ear out. Tell Dameron that he doesn’t have to worry about Hux,” Kylo leaned into the man, right next to his ear he whispered so that Poppy, under no circumstances, would hear him. “He’s done for, I’ve gotten rid of his body and I expect my payment within the next two weeks.”

“Yes sir.” The informant said as he stepped away. Kylo watched as he walked out of the cave, back to his girlfriend's car where he’d disappear, effectively forgetting any and everything he saw and heard that day at his cave. Kylo had been so grateful for everything the informant had done for him, but he just wished he could have brought him a bed. He sighed, pulled out the cover of the newspaper and looked at Poppy’s happy face. He wondered momentarily where this photo of her was taken from, he had never seen this photo anywhere on the compound before. In the end it didn’t matter. There were only two things Kylo was sure of at the end of the day: That Poppy would be staying with him, and that he’d need to go out and get her her own mattress tomorrow morning. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> God damn it, we just can't get rid of Finn.


End file.
